Follow On
by Many Impossible Things
Summary: "He'd only just gotten her home two years prior. She needed to relax, to settle, and definitely not bring back memories of hanging upon every glorious word of the wizard's tales and not think of adventures! At least, Bilbo sincerely hoped that was what she needed, because if it wasn't he had no idea what he was doing..."
1. Bilbo & Poppy

_S.R. 1316_

"Come on, Bilbo! Hurry up!"

Panting as he raced after his little cousin, Bilbo Baggins rolled his eyes in an almost genuine sense of irritation. _He _was the tween, but she was certainly having a better go at it that day. How did she _never_ trip with as pell-mell as she was leading him through the trees? He swore she should just live out with all her animals sometimes… Skidding to a stop as he released her smaller hand, eyes wide with surprise, he demanded, "What do you mean 'hurry up'? I'm not following you over _that_!"

"Oh, come along," she chided affectionately, deftly holding out her arms while swiftly turning herself around upon the damp log she was running on. "The moss shan't turn your toes green."

Folding his arms and raising an eyebrow in a way that said he was attempting to be more mature than her, Bilbo tried again, "I'm talking about how this bridge of yours is rotting from the inside out and is consequently suspended _fifteen_ feet over a stream that I have no desire to fall into!"

Sighing, she plopped down in the exact center, folding her arms identically to his. At her actions, he groaned, throwing his hands up to the sky. With arms again crossed, he began tapping a large hobbit foot. He raised an eyebrow; smirking, she raised one of hers. He raised a finger to point it at her accusingly; she did the same.

Finally, unable to hold back a smile, Bilbo laughed, using her given name instead of the pet one he and her mother used, "Poppy, you are infuriating. Have I ever told you that?"

Leaping up, she grinned, "Every time you come to see me, Bilbo. Now come on, this is the fastest way back to the house. I thought you might want to be there quickly for dinner. Mother made cake."

Walking back more carefully, the younger hobbit took her cousin's hand and quickly but delicately guided him over her improvised bridge. The fallen tree was old, but she'd looked and it was still fairly sturdy. Given the stream beneath wasn't kicking up mist because of a waterfall or the like, the rot had been kept at bay. However, she knew that he didn't know that and took care to his hesitance because of it.

Willingly following her lead again, Bilbo had to smile. Poppy was one of the most caring, most curious, most adventurous hobbits he'd ever had the pleasure of knowing and being related to, no matter what he actually told her. While she sometimes had a subtle way of showing it, her intentions were always for his benefit in some way. Usually that care was just buried beneath an exasperating delivery and quite openly spoken words.

There were fifteen years of difference between them but they got along remarkably well. He wasn't quite ready to grow up and she had the insight of one older, truly making any gap moot. For all intents and purposes, he was her protective big brother and she his doting and excitable little sister. But then, what else was to be expected of the only children of Belladonna and Belinda Took? With mothers who were sisters closer than twins, the cousins saw much of each other and had found the same kindled spirit of curiosity in one another.

There wasn't an inch of the small wood, the hills, the sheep meadow near her home, or Greenfields that they had not ventured through during some invented quest. He'd lost count of the number of times they'd spent a positively wonderful day fighting the Battle of Greenfields. Bilbo wouldn't go quite so far as to call it _adventurous_ on his part, but they were certainly never _bored_ when together.

Of course, they were usually never completely out of trouble, either.

While it seemed that every animal that walked Middle Earth loved his little cousin without question—whether it was as docile as a sheep or milk cow or as skittish as a sparrow or hare—he had no idea how her family's many sheep put up with them using their flock as a roiling ocean or how the songbirds didn't fly away when their calls were loudly deemed signals of the enemy. Imaginations and the books to fuel them were two things he and Poppy weren't lacking in the slightest.

Though their fathers were both stout, sensible Hobbits—hers was a Gamgee and his a Baggins—who didn't believe in adventures or doing anything unexpected, their mothers were healthy in the famous Took oddity. Belladonna and Belinda were not going to head off on an adventure one day, but they firmly believed their children should be able to imagine as many as they wished while still young.

As the two young Hobbits hurried back through the small wood near Poppy's home in the North Farthing, Bilbo declared animatedly, "You'll never imagine who came to visit Hobbiton the day before yesterday!"

Recognizing the pure excitement in his voice, she turned her large blue eyes to him with equal delight, "Who? Someone interesting? Someone from outside? Was it a Dwarf? Mother says they're terribly talented folk. It couldn't have been an Elf…but was it?"

Laughing as her age revealed itself in the very speed of her questions, Bilbo shook his head, "No to the last and no to the one before. But…you're right on the second count."

"Someone from outside the Shire, then! Who was it and why ever did they come here?" she asked with clear wonder. While she loved her home, her family, and her animals, there was always a part of her that wondered why others would visit the slow-paced, simple land that was the Shire. The rest of the world always seemed so much more exciting, as did the people who lived out in it. She couldn't understand what would draw them away from that.

"Do you remember a few Midyear's Days ago there were fireworks and a wizard who came?" At her nod—how could she forget the wizard and fireworks that had showed up on her birthday?!—he continued, "Gandalf, that wizard arrived! He spent most of the day at our house. You'll never believe all the things he knows! I asked him about Hildifons Took, the one who went on an adventure... Mother invited him here with us today. He should have arrived by now."

"Run faster, Bilbo!" she laughed, pulling him along and forcing him to talk at the same time. Poppy listened with a wide smile, enraptured as Bilbo recounted all that Gandalf had told him of their singularly interesting relative.

As they approached her home, a hobbit hole of smaller and simpler proportions than Bilbo's, large smoke rings could be seen floating lazily into the sky. Smiling widely, Poppy began to run faster. "Master Gandalf!"

It had been a few years, but the wizard clearly remembered the dark-haired hobbit lass who had been the birthday girl on his last visit. Returning her wide grin, he rose and caught her as she launched toward him, "Little Anna, how are you? It is still Anna to your friends, is it not?"

Nodding vehemently, she replied, "Of course. How are you? Why have you come? Have you done anything interesting?"

Laughing at her questions not unlike Bilbo had, the man smiled as he set her down, "May you never change, little hobbit. The world would be a darker place without your exuberance to light it." Reclaiming his seat and refilling his pipe, he pondered what story to first tell the two cousins who had eagerly sat at his feet, their dinner forgotten…

* * *

A/N: Why hello there everyone.

So, over here in The Hobbit land, there's been a population explosion in the last month and I decided, why not get in on it. I know there's a good many stories up and I've come across ones with a general idea similar to mine (Bilbo's got a cousin, she winds up going along, and likely falls for a dwarf along the way-though I haven't decided which one personally). I'll say upfront that I even follow some of them because they're wonderful. However, I promise, promise, promise that what follows is from my head and has been bungling about in there since I walked out of the theatre at 3 in the morning in December. I'm not trying to take anything from anyone, though if one of you other wonderful ladies out there decides mine makes you uncomfortable, I'll take it down with complete understanding. I don't want to step on anyone's toes and felt it necessary to cover my bases.

On that note, JRR Tolkien is an incredible man, literary genius, and owns positively everything from the universe of Arda: I do not. I wish I could have picked your brain, good sir. Many thanks for reading and drop me a line if the desire takes you.


	2. Unexpected Company

A/N: Since my prologue didn't give a whole lot, I decided to throw up a second chapter today to get things started. Thanks for reading, reviews are lovely, and I hope you enjoy. :)

* * *

25 years later, S.R.1341

Looking up with surprise as what could only have been his own smoking ring turned about and smacked up in the face, Bilbo Baggins gazed hesitantly at the man in grey before him. "Good morning?"

"What do you mean? Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?"

Gaping slightly as his quite settled, quite comfortable mind attempted to process what had just been said, Bilbo finally answered with, "All of them at once, I suppose."

He was answered only with a low "Hmmmm."

Memory searching for some inkling as to who this figure was—something told him he really _should_ know with the tall hat, long beard, and billowing grey robes—he attempted politeness, "Umm, can I help you?"

"That remains to be seen… I'm looking for someone to share in an adventure." The last word hung on the air for a moment, as if unsure whether it would be welcomed or shunned in its speaker's company. For that moment, the speaker was unsure whether Bilbo had suddenly forgotten how to breathe.

"An…an adventure?" Bucking up, a bit of a haughty smirk upon his face, the hobbit replied, "Now, I don't suppose anyone west of _Bree_ would have much interest in adventures. Nasty, disturbing…uncomfortable things."

As the conversation had begun to take a rather unexpected turn—something Bilbo was unfortunately used to but quite unhappy with—he stood and made himself appear busy, hoping that perhaps this large grey man would go away, the ghastly idea of adventures gone from his head…and hopefully his own because for a split second, he'd been inexplicably tempted to blurt out yes. Gathering his mail from the round mailbox and sifting through it diligently, he added, "Make you late for dinner."

Making a few noises he really couldn't explain while he erratically sucked on his pipe, Bilbo began to back up as the man continued to loom. "Well, good morning."

Just as he had made it to his stairs, the grey man's words hit him with far more force than previously, "To think that I would live to be 'good morning'ed by Belladonna Took's son and Anna Gamgee's favorite cousin as if I were selling buttons at the door!"

Jolting not only at the naming of his mother but also at that particular name for his cousin Poppy, Bilbo turned, "I beg your pardon!"

"You've changed, Bilbo Baggins, and not entirely for the better. I do hope little Anna has not."

"She's _not_ Anna anymore!" The tall wizard took a small step back at the protective venom in the shorter being's voice. Letting out a curt breath, recovering from his unintended snapping, Bilbo tried to remain polite, "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

Sighing, more than one of his fears confirmed, the man replied, "You know my name but you don't remember that I belong to it… I'm Gandalf and Gandalf means me!"

His memory all but kicking him, Bilbo lightened, "Not Gandalf who had such _wonderful_ fireworks! I remember the Old Took used to have them on Midsummer's Eve." His memory also whispered to him that he had been particularly fond of Gandalf and his stories, not just his fireworks. So had Poppy…

The wizard had puffed with a pleasure at the flattery of his work, but his face quickly fell as Bilbo commented dryly, "I had no idea you were still in business." He wanted the wizard to go away, especially before Poppy returned. She didn't _need_ any more adventures. He'd only just gotten her home two years prior. She needed to relax, to settle, not bring back memories of her childhood of hanging upon every glorious word of the wizard's tales. At least, he sincerely hoped that was what she needed, because if it wasn't he had no idea what he was doing.

"And where else should I be?" Gandalf queried harshly, ending his companion's thoughts. Taken aback, Bilbo gaped yet again for a few moments. Just as he had prepared himself to speak again, the wizard beat him to it. "Well, I'm pleased to learn that you remember something about me, even if it is just my fireworks. Well, that's decided. It'll be very good for you! …And most amusing for me. I shall inform the others."

A tad bit of shock setting in, Bilbo jumped in surprise. Taking his pipe and gesturing with it as he retreated to the large newly-painted green door, he stuttered out, "No! No, we don't want any adventure here. Not today, not tomorrow. I suggest you try over the Hill or…past the water. Just… Good morning." With that, the hobbit stepped over the ledge and shut the door behind him, letting out a sigh of relief as he leaned back against it; he was in here, the wizard out there.

Wizard… He locked it for good measure.

Suddenly, an odd scraping sound on the door reached his ears. Wondering what on earth it could be, he knelt down a bit to hear. It disappeared almost immediately. Frowning, he stood and went to peek out the window. He was unexpectedly greeted with one large, discerning grey eye. Heart jumping out of his chest, Bilbo scrambled out of view.

Muttering to himself as he turned, Gandalf ambled down the steps and to the gate.

"Master Gandalf…?"

Though he recognized it immediately, there was an odd hesitance to the feminine voice addressing him that almost made the wizard question his memory. Could such a mouse of a voice really have come from the inquisitive, audacious girl he thought it belonged to? Though he had heard what happened, through the most unlikely of sources, too, he had hoped that she would not have changed. He hoped that her spirit would have endured.

Looking up from beneath the rim of his hat, he saw that his memory served him well. Though grown up, the hobbit lass before him had the same dark hair, the same caring blue eyes, and the same face that looked so like her mother's. Smiling fondly, he nodded, "Though there's been a bit of argument about it this morning, yes, it's me."

Smiling in return, what looked incredibly like tears in her eyes, she dropped her packages and walking stick and ran to him like she had as a child, not another word or care about 'polite society' in her mind. There was the spirit he knew. Perhaps it had only been hidden, not stamped out. Gandalf only just knelt in time to return her hug, "It's been far too long, Miss Gamgee."

Laughing with a nod, she agreed in the same small volume he wasn't used to, "Yes it has. It's still Anna to my friends, though, Gandalf." When the old man's eyes flicked back toward Bag End, she commented evasively, knowing how her cousin would have reacted to someone using that name, "Bilbo isn't my friend. He's my incorrigible big cousin."

Chuckling at her joke, Gandalf decided not to poke further into Bilbo's prior comment. After a few moments, she released her hold and gathered up her packages from what looked like the butcher and her dark wood walking stick that stood a few inches taller than her. The wizard couldn't help but feel as if she deflated a bit even as he watched her. True, she was thin for a hobbit, but that wasn't entirely it. She just seemed…smaller than when she was a child, as if she were being invisibly weighted down from above. The brightness had been hidden away under the strain.

Breaking his deep thoughts, she asked softly, "Are you staying for luncheon? Bilbo won't have eaten without me. You're welcome to come in."

Looking to the door once again with a glance as sly as hers, he shook his head, "Unfortunately, I cannot at the moment, my dear." He straightened, adjusting his hat and getting a more appropriate walking grip upon his staff. Noticing the distressed look in her eyes, he continued, "But I will be back tonight and I promise there will be a story to be heard."

Brightening, excitement creasing her features in a way that said they hadn't gotten the chance to take on such a nice expression in a long time, she queried as she approached the gate, "Shall I make you anything special? I've plenty of time."

"I trust anything you wish to make. Although, a large bit of it and a healthy serving of biscuits would probably be for the best." Blue eyes narrowing slightly, a small smirk appeared on her lips though she stayed silent. "And Anna, perhaps you won't mention this to Bilbo."

Her answer came in the form of a smile that only truly made it to her sparkling eyes. Winking at her, he then turned and began down the road. Looking after him for a moment, Poppy turned and made her way through the gate and up the stairs. She had just reached her free hand out to the knob when she noticed an odd marking on the bottom right part of the door. Vaguely recognizing it as a Dwarf rune from some book she'd read at some point, she glanced back down the path.

Gandalf was up to something and she was rather sure that Bilbo wasn't going to like however he was involved…

Deciding not to mention the mark, she quietly opened the door and slipped inside the home she shared with her cousin. Walking toward the kitchen, she smiled at seeing him, "I'm going to make some stew and biscuits after lunch. Perhaps some lemon and seed muffins, too. Do you want to help?"

Looking almost flustered at the brightness of her mood, Bilbo gaped for a moment, "Of-of course. I thought we were going to have fish tonight, though."

"We are, if you still want. I'll just start it simmering. The muffins can be for breakfast."

"Very well. I-I'll get the stewpot."

Beaming at him, she nodded as she began putting away their groceries, "Excellent."

* * *

Once again comfortable in his patchwork dressing gown, Bilbo scooped his fish from the frying pan and sat down to eat, delicately placing his napkin under his collar, unconsciously glancing at the door to make sure Poppy was not there. She despised the habit and never failed to look at him with a raised eyebrow. Part of him always made sure he did it anyway when she was around, wanting to see the teasing spirit he loved about his cousin.

She was currently in her bedroom a few doors down, right next to the pantry. When she had first returned, she'd requested that room, although he'd tried to give her the grand guest room. She insisted on the one deeper in the house, saying it always smelled of lovely bread.

After a full afternoon of baking and, surprisingly enough, good, full conversation, she had given him a smile, hug, and said she was going to take a short nap. He could go ahead and eat without her. She'd had her fill in 'taste-checking' all that they'd made. He had acquiesced, sitting down in his study with a book before then readying his single dinner.

As always, she had quietly requested, "Wake me if anything interesting happens." There had been a sparkle in her eye at that and he was completely lost as to what its source could be. Too pleased it existed to wonder too long about its origin, Bilbo had smiled and nodded as she closed her door.

Happily enough, the odd encounter with Gandalf that morning had basically left his mind. He was far too happy with the time he'd spent with Poppy. She was slowly coming out again, though he noted it was only ever to him. But, progress was progress.

Just as he was about to take his first lovely bite of his fish, the bell rang. Frowning, he rose, wondering who would be so rude as to unexpectedly visit at this hour of supper. Likely a Sackville-Baggins. Opening the door and finding the figure standing before it, Bilbo quite lost his voice for a long moment.

Before him was an abnormally tall dwarf with a balding head that was covered in tattoos and ears that held multiple earrings. And, if Bilbo was not mistaken, his hands were covered with odd metal…gloves of some kind. Looking down at him with clear disbelief, the dwarf said solemnly as he bowed, "Dwalin, at your service."

Gathering his wits, Bilbo quickly tied his robe together, "Bilbo Baggins, at yours." Without another word spoken, no invitation at all, the dwarf started forward and pushed past him into his foyer. Stuttering, the hobbit questioned, "I-I'm sorry, do we know each other."

"No," the dwarf—'Dwalin'—answered immediately, a strong tone of irritation in his brogue. "Which way, laddie? Is it down here then?" he queried as he removed his traveling cloak and promptly tossed it at Bilbo.

"I-Is what down there?"

"Supper. He said there'd be food and lots of it." Without waiting for an answer the dwarf presumably followed his nose to the kitchen , leaving Bilbo to hastily hang the cloak, close the door, and scamper after him.

"He-He said? Who said?"

Bilbo soon found himself sitting awkwardly by as Dwalin sat down to his table and ate his way rather quickly through his fish and vegetables. After handing the dwarf a bowl of biscuits—only a small portion of the oddly large number Poppy had made earlier—he finally got up the gumption to comment, "Mmmm, it's just that ummm, I wasn't expecting company."

As soon as the word was out of his mouth, the doorbell chimed merrily. A smug kind of smile on his face, Dwalin merely stated, "That'll be the door."

* * *

Within half an hour, Bag End had been positively overrun with dwarves! While all were 'at his service,' Bilbo had yet to find them helpful in the slightest.

He was quite beside himself, attempting in a growing panic to save as many of his belongings and as much of his food as he could. Gandalf, that ruddy trickster, merely strode about, greeting and counting without a word as to why they were all in his home. Bilbo was just attempting to take back an antique chair from a dwarf with an _axe_ imbedded in his forehead, when he vaguely heard one of them ask, "Where's the next pantry? This one's empty."

The hobbit had run off to save another piece of furniture and failed to hear the reply. "I'll try over here," the gigantic one named Bombur suggested. He ventured off on his own with Fili in his wake to the door next to the pantry. Logically thinking, that would be the obvious place to look…

Poppy was sleeping quite heavily as she always tended to when inside. The instinct she'd acquired that woke her at the slightest noise decided to sleep as well when she was indoors it appeared. Before falling asleep, she'd been reading a book, taking up residence in the armchair right next to the door, hoping she'd be able to wake upon hearing Gandalf arrive. Her staff in hand, as it always was when there was the strong possibility of falling asleep, she had dozed out of consciousness.

Poppy was brought abruptly back to the land of the wakeful when her door opened and a gigantic red-haired dwarf appeared in her vision. In its shocked state, her mind only realized that the figure was _not_ her cousin and reacted accordingly. Before she quite realized what was before her, she bolted upright and swung her staff in exceptionally quick succession first into his stomach, flicked it up to crack against his temple, and then down to the back of his knees.

The figure let out a deep, shocked moan, his eyes beginning to roll back into his head at the force of the blow to the _one_ soft spot on a dwarf's head.

Squeaking in horror at what she'd just done, Poppy leapt from her place as the now incredibly dazed dwarf rocked dangerously forward. Heaving mightily under one of his shoulders, she managed to keep the enormous dwarf upright. She held onto him under that one shoulder, given she couldn't really reach higher and he was far too thick for her to even reach completely around him. He groaned in pain again and raised a portly hand to his head, still addled. Wincing at the pain she must have inflicted upon an innocent someone who could only be there at Gandalf's behest, meaning he was likely quite a good person, she slowly turned the dwarf about to walk him toward the absolute din of noise she now heard.

After a few steps of staring at the floor and trying not to think about how the dwarf's weight made her feel like she was becoming much shorter, two boots entered her vision, making her squeak yet again. She shot her eyes upward to find a shocked male face staring at her, his position perfectly acceptable for having seen _everything_ she'd just done. Well…that face wasn't Bilbo, either.

Gathering her voice, Poppy called accusingly with a pant before the blonde dwarf before her could speak, "BILBO!"

The din disappeared immediately and the thumping of what could only be a very large number of feet racing toward her and her victim could be heard. Quite suddenly, she was confronted with twelve pairs of shocked eyes and one amused grey pair under a set of raised bushy eyebrows.

Her dwarf swayed dangerously again, trying and failing to find his feet. Panting, Poppy hauled harder on his arm, "Oh no!"

At her words, the blonde dwarf sprang into action and took the rotund dwarf's other arm and most of his weight, though the task seemed to be a heavy one for him as well. She let out a deep breath as she could breathe again. The silence remained for another moment until the large dwarf asked dizzily, "What…happened?"

Stifling a laugh, having recovered from his surprise, the blonde dwarf replied, "I don't think that was the second pantry, Bombur. The lass took you out with a blooming walking stick."

The dwarves all then erupted into laughter. Swatting Bilbo's arm, making the hobbit stagger, Dwalin queried, "So who's the bonny lass, Mr. Baggins?"

As Bilbo's mouth opened and closed rapidly like a fish's, Gandalf stepped forward with a smile, "This, gentlemen, is Mr. Baggins' cousin, Miss Poppy Gamgee. I take it you've already met Bombur. The rest of our company is made of," he took a deep breath and began pointing about the circle that had formed, "Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Dori, Nori, Ori, Dwalin, Balin, Bofur, and Bifur, my dear Anna."

As one, they all bowed and said in unison, "At your service."

Her head swam as she attempted to keep up and keep the rhyming names attributed to their correct owners. "At…umm, all of yours." A few chuckled at that.

"So, Anna, did you happen to—"

Voice a fierce whisper, Bilbo found his words, "I've told you once before, Gandalf, that is _not _her name."

Straightening and subsequently cringing as her back snapped in a few places after a dwarf—Kili?—took her place at Bombur's side, Poppy cut her cousin off in a low voice, "Bilbo, how is this _not_ interesting?"

"Wha-What?"

Though she realized she probably sounded incredibly foolish given that everyone could obviously hear her, she breathed earnestly, "I asked you to wake me if something interesting happened." The dwarves again all roared in laughter, startling her a bit. Nobody but Bilbo had laughed at something she'd said like that in years.

Pushing through the small crowd, having to stoop mightily to maneuver, Gandalf gently took her arm with a smile. "Did you get a chance to make anything, my dear?"

She nodded, trying not to feel supremely uncomfortable with so many, many people in the small space that was the hallway, and led the wizard toward the kitchen. She supposed she should have felt uncomfortable given she was in her pajamas of one of Bilbo's old grey shirts over an equally old blue petticoat. The thought quickly left her mind. She could be in worse things.

Reaching into the breadbox, she extracted two large baskets of biscuits and then took the lid off the stewpot on the hearth. "Why didn't Bilbo get this out before?" she asked quietly, thankful only Gandalf had followed her. The rest were all witnessing Bombur regaining his wits.

Chuckling, Gandalf replied, "I do believe he's been quite occupied trying to save the furniture. When it comes to getting between a group of dwarves and their dinner, it's a bit like being the little piece of metal between the anvil and hammer."

Smirking at the analogy and the fact that poor Bilbo was that piece of metal, she reached into a cabinet and pulled out a huge stack of soup bowls, muttering names to herself as she did, counting in her head. "Thirteen, plus Bilbo and I?"

"Fourteen," Dwalin answered stoutly from the rounded doorway, his brethren all crowded in behind him, his expression almost daring her to contradict him. "He's just late." The last part was quite obviously for Gandalf's benefit. She merely nodded without another word when the dwarf's gaze came back to her and grabbed a ladle.

Filing into a straight, orderly procession, the dwarves lined up in the doorway with Gandalf at the lead. Each one thanked her with a small bow, a smile, and word of thanks, even Bifur though she hadn't the faintest idea what word he'd said. When Bombur came past, she held his dinner for a second longer, stating sincerely, "I'm so sorry."

He laughed, holding up his bowl, "This is apology enough, I promise, lass." She smiled for a moment until the next dwarf came up.

In the hallway connecting the kitchen to the dining room, Bilbo stood stunned at how they had miraculously stopped ransacking his house as soon as Poppy stepped up to the stewpot! Sighing, he took a short moment to sit down, resting his forehead on the heel of his palm.

Dwarves had invaded his home. Gandalf no doubt wanted to bring up that terrible adventure business. All his food was _gone_. And Poppy had suddenly been beset upon by a gaggle of boisterous dwarves and he had no idea how her solitary self was feeling at that moment. Also…his mother's poor glory box!

Each with a bowl of stew in one hand and at least three biscuits in the other, the dwarves crammed themselves into the dining room. The chatter immediately swelled to a roar as they arranged all the other goodies they'd found in the pantry upon the creaking table, too. Smiling faintly, Poppy peered out of the kitchen to see her exhausted cousin, "Here Bilbo." She held out a heaping bowl for him as well.

He took it with a still perplexed thank you, glaring at the dwarves who were now tossing food about to one another as if potatoes had suddenly become sporting balls! Poppy peeked in and smiled widely. Perhaps their manners weren't up to hobbit standards, but all the men before her surely knew good food and good company and relished each. Plus, they were an incredibly merry bunch and she couldn't help but feel merrier because of them.

Suddenly realizing that most had nothing to drink, she turned back to the kitchen to grab some tankards. Normally, she wouldn't be so tied to the kitchen, but Bilbo was a tad bit too…indisposed to be a proper host to such an unexpected party. She'd only just knelt to the floor and reached for the larger pint-sized ones in the far back of the cabinet when she heard a voice close behind her, "Do you want some help, lass?"

Having heard his approach but not having paid attention to it, she pulled back and glanced up with some surprise. The blonde dwarf who had witnessed her incident with Bombur earlier was crouched down beside her. His face was jovial with an easy smile beneath his braided moustache and his voice kind, an apparently common but universally unknown trait of his race. Smiling slightly at how merry the burly dwarves had turned out to be and at his offer of aid, she nodded, "Sure. Thank you…Fili?"

The young dwarf nodded with a widening grin, likewise using her name instead of lass for the first time, "Aye, Poppy. I'll take them if you hand them up to me."

Nodding, she stuck her head back into the cabinet, shoving her arm back with three mugs a few moments later. Warm, rough fingers brushed hers for a moment and then they were gone.

"Why on earth do you store all your tankards way back there?" he asked after taking the first few, the sense of hiding them away beyond him.

Handing him a few more, she answered with an unconscious giggle, "If hobbits started drinking pints on a regular basis, the Shire would be a far tipsier place." Fili erupted in laughter beside her at the thought.

When fourteen tankards had been collected for the company and she had grabbed one for Bilbo—she got the feeling he'd need a little something at some point during the night—she stood and helped Fili cart them all over to the keg he and his brother had set up in the hall. Each carrying seven brimming cups, the two made their way into the dining room.

Frowning for a moment, Fili shrugged and climbed atop the table, shouting as he went, "Who wants an ale? There you go!" Slight smile on her face, Poppy decided not to follow his example and simply passed the tankards down instead.

When her hands were empty, she turned to go, try and cheer up Bilbo a bit, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. Gandalf gave her a smile and she made her way toward him in the corner. Speaking softly amongst the din so only she could hear, he asked fondly, "How are you, little Anna?"

The brunette gazed intently at him for a moment before stating simply, "You've heard."

There was no question in her words but Gandalf nodded all the same. "Yes, I have. Quite a bit, actually. I take it Bilbo has taken it upon himself to become your protector?"

She nodded, "Yes and I love him for it, though sometimes I think he believes I'm about to shatter into a million pieces."

"You aren't?"

Laughing bitterly, knowing he didn't really mean it, she shook her head, "No. If you've heard then you should know that I won't. I'm far past that."

Squeezing her little pajama-clad shoulder, he apologized, "I am sorry not to have given you more warning, however. I'd imagine this must be," he was forced to pause as a toast was followed by a large round of belching, "…a lot."

Merely rolling her eyes with amusement at the habits of males in general, she shrugged with a real laugh, "I don't mind. It's rather nice not to be whispered about." Noticing the heavy silence that had descended in a post-burping pause, she added for the dwarves' benefit, "Some more time to get used to them and I may just learn to bake."

A large cheer went up at prospect, given that most had understood little of her and the wizard's conversation. Laughing as well, Gandalf pulled her into a one-armed hug, "I truly am so glad to see you again, Anna."

"Me, too," she replied before again leaving the room, more truth in her statement than he could possibly know.

She headed back to the kitchen, knowing that where there was that much food, there was bound to be even more dishes. Filling up the sink with warm water and soap, she pulled herself up onto the counter next to it to wait, listening to the conversation in the next room. Bilbo appeared near her soon enough and she merely handed him a cup of what looked like red wine. Dori she believed had poured it earlier for Gandalf.

Groaning in what could almost be physical distress, Bilbo took it and swallowed the liquid in one gulp. He looked ready to say something to her, likely comment on the lightness of her mood, when he suddenly caught sight of someone wiping his mouth with a doily. Scampering off, he nagged, "No, no! That is a doily, _not_ a dishcloth."

"But it's all full of holes," the dwarf with the hat—Bofur?—declared with confusion. Poppy smirked at that, never having really understood the point of doilies herself, and continued observing the dwarves before her who had all taken to relaxing wherever they found, only rising to refill their pints.

Later over the talking, she heard a quieter, almost childlike voice ask, "Excuse me. I'm sorry to interrupt, but what shall I do with my plate."

Poppy was about to call that she would take it before Bilbo had an apoplexy once he realized all the washing there was to do, but Fili's voice beat hers, "Here Ori, give it to me."

She heard a slight whizzing and before she knew it, Bifur had shoved her gently to the side and he took the place in front of the sink. As soon as he had, her aunt's china plates began to _literally_ fly through the air toward them. Screeching a bit in surprise, she ducked only to see Bifur catching every single one without much effort and Kili throwing them to him with equal skill. She opened her mouth to say…_something_, but the older dwarf merely smiled at her, the expression looking foreign on his wild face.

"Excuse me! No, that's my mother's West Farthing pottery!" came Bilbo's distressed, voice. "It's over a hundred years old!"

A rhythmic pounding of silverware on wood soon reached her ears as well, making her foot tap in time quite by itself. A smile crept over her face.

"Could you not do that? You'll blunt them!"

"Oooh, do you hear that, lads? He says we'll blunt the knives." She couldn't tell who that had been but a song soon broke out, Fili's voice the only she could assuredly discern. In a deep recess of her mind, she suddenly hoped that whatever business Gandalf had brought them there for would take a few days. In the dwarves' robust, rambunctious company she felt lighter than she had since she was a young tween.

"_Blunt the knives, bend the forks!_

_Smash the bottles and burn the corks!"_

A flute and lute quickly joined the fray as the dwarves started their song of what 'Bilbo Baggins hates!'

Bubbling up from deep in her stomach, Poppy was quickly overtaken by laughter. She couldn't help the heavy giggles that erupted from her mouth as plates, bowls, tankards, and everything else made their way with a ramshackle kind of aerial efficiency that was only egged on by her bubbly laughter. Sliding into the room, Fili and Kili sent her wide grins as they flicked a line of plates into the air and she began laughing all over again.

She sat upon the counter, ducking and grinning as dinnerware was flung her way, watching with great amusement as every single dish was cleaned and spotless by the time their song was finished.

Her laughter was soon added to by all the others' when Bilbo shouldered his way in and stared at the stacks of shining dishes with shock. A split second later, his gaze flitted to the tears of laughter running down his cousin's face and his face softened ever so slightly.

Silence immediately descended, however, when three resounding knocks were heard from the door. The dwarves all froze, the only sound being the few leftover giggles from Poppy. At the change in mood, she quickly got them under control, only a grin and a few stray tears remaining.

Gandalf's voice was incredibly ominous when he said simply, "He is here."

Sending the now silent guests a look of confusion, Bilbo slowly, hesitantly turned and made his way toward his foyer. The others all got up to follow him, Gandalf in the lead. Closest to her, Fili and Kili held out hands to help her down from her perch. Surprised at the unexpected move of chivalry, she could only stare at the outstretched limbs for a moment. Then smiling lightly again, she took them both and hopped down.

Unsure if her presence was intended to be included or if she wanted it included, she held back, deciding to see who this guest was before joining the fray. Smiling once again, she looked at the stacks of dishes with a shake of her head before beginning the process of putting them all back in their places. She heard Bilbo be introduced to someone named Thorin Oakenshield. There was the late dwarf Dwalin had spoken of. Taking one of the bowls that had just been cleaned, she filled it up with stew and silently placed it on the dining room table before disappearing again.

Continuing her work as quietly as possible, she shamelessly eavesdropped upon the conversation in the next room as the dwarves spoke of their home of Erebor and some signs that spoke of the time to take it back. She had read once of Erebor and its great wealth and how it had been taken by Smaug in a great tragedy. So that was the tale Gandalf had spoken of. What on earth did it have to do with Bilbo, though?

At Bilbo's question of the beast, she heard Bofur begin to describe in not at all gentle detail what the creature was. Bilbo snapped quickly, "Yes, I know what a dragon is." She could only smirk at her cousin's fire once riled. There was some heated discussion about how few dwarves there were to go on this quest and how Gandalf would've slain hundreds of dragons. Something told her that was wishful thinking, no matter how wonderful she thought the wizard. They seemed to have realized that too and an uproar began.

"Enough!"

She jumped as what must've been Thorin's voice rose over them all. A stirring speech quickly had his brethren behind him once again and they then spoke of a map, hidden doors, and the need of a burglar. Bilbo piped up at that point, obviously not having realized what Poppy had. _He_ was to be the burglar. As a voice asked with no small amount of accusation if he was a burglar, she stood and quietly strode into the hallway, still mostly out of sight. She had the feeling Bilbo might need a friendly face in a moment or two.

"Aye," Dwalin said, "the wild is no place for gentle folk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves."

A jolt ran through her at his words, an old pain in her heart flared up. Perhaps not, but they could certainly learn.

As the assembled company all began to agree with rising volume, she could almost feel the darkness begin to creep through the house as Gandalf stood, "_Enough_. If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar, then a burglar he is!"

She'd heard a voice like that only once before, where it captured every living thing about it and forced them to take heed, but it had not been from Gandalf. His tone returned to the one she knew when he continued, "Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet. In fact, they can pass unseen by most if they choose. And, while the dragon is accustomed to the scent of dwarf, that of a hobbit will be all but unknown to him, which gives us an advantage. You asked me to find the fourteenth member of this company and I have chosen Mr. Baggins. There's a lot more than appearances suggest and he has a great deal more to offer than any of you know, including himself."

There was a slight pause in which Gandalf glanced up and met her gaze briefly before turning it to Thorin, "You must trust me on this."

The dark-haired dwarf before her seemed to nod unwillingly, "Fine. We'll do this your way. Balin, give him a contract."

The elderly dwarf rose and handed a large parchment to Bilbo, despite her cousin's many objections. "Funeral arrangements?!"

Crossing the doorway, she went to stand beside Gandalf, her decision made without a thought. Still ignorant of her existence, Thorin leaned to the wizard and whispered in a low voice, "I cannot guarantee his safety, nor will I be responsible for his fate."

Before Gandalf could respond, Poppy had gently touched the wizard's arm. Both looked to her with surprise, not having heard her come over. Ignoring Thorin, she looked at Gandalf and, when she thought she saw comprehension in his gaze, she gave a quick nod that he understood. He had to smile. Bilbo may have appointed himself _her_ protector, but her gaze had quite clearly just answered Thorin's statement: _I will_. She would guarantee his safety and be responsible for his fate. He had not banked on having two hobbits along, but some extra help for Bilbo couldn't go astray.

"Who is _this_?"

Before the dwarves' introduction to her had been filled with amusement, but Thorin's voice was hard with contempt at the surprise of being caught off guard by the girl. Gandalf watched as she visibly retreated into herself like a turtle going into its shell, any prior openness squashed under the weight of his tone. Flicking her blue eyes up to look at the dwarf king, she didn't answer, only turned to her cousin who was reading through the contract with growing hysteria.

"…laceration, evisceration…_incineration_?!"

"Oh aye, he'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye." Well, Poppy noted to herself, Bofur was not the shining example of subtleness apparently.

Bilbo visibly paled and she took a gentle hold of his arm. "Are you all right, laddie?" Balin asked kindly, voicing her sentiments exactly.

"I-I feel a bit faint. I need air."

"Think furnace with wings." She turned and sent Bofur a scathing glare that he apparently didn't notice but made a few of the others lean away from her slightly. "There's a bright light, searing pain, and then poof, you're nothing more than a pile of ash."

Bilbo straightened after a moment, looking surprisingly better. He even sent her a small smile as he apparently came to terms with what he'd just read. Warily, she retracted her hand. All was still for a moment before he shook his head, "Nope," and promptly fell to the floor in a dead faint.

"Oh very helpful, Bofur," Gandalf said wryly as he got up to help Poppy who had bent over her cousin immediately. Silently but forcefully, she stepped forward and snatched the tankard from Thorin's grasp, his being the closest. Cupping her hand, she stuck it in the ale and then splashed some onto Bilbo's face, waking him immediately with a strangled cry and a jolt. She helped Gandalf guide him to an armchair before the fire in the sitting room and then hurried to brew him some tea.

The dwarves looked at her with some amount of surprise, wondering what had caused her to go from the laughing albeit shy lass from earlier to the silent stone who ignored them completely as she walked by. Only on her way back did she pause when Bofur offered earnestly, "I'm sorry about that, lass. I didn't think he'd take it quite like that. He's supposed to be a burglar, you know."

The forgiving smile only appeared in her eyes before she continued on after seeing him understand.

"And I thought she was too quiet _earlier_," Kili muttered to his brother. It suddenly occurred to Fili that perhaps she was actually quite sad and the girl they'd seen tonight was a rare visitor in the hobbit hole…


	3. The Wrong Hobbit

"The world isn't in your books, Bilbo. It's out there."

Gesturing with his hands as a tad bit of hysteria entered his voice, Bilbo objected from his seat as Gandalf accused him of complacency, "I can't just go running off into the blue! I am a Baggins of Bag End."

"You are also a Took!"

Bilbo sighed, leaning his back against the chair as Gandalf described Old Bullroarer Took and the battle of Greenfields, a story that his youth with Poppy ensured he knew very, very well. At the thought of Poppy, he sighed and worry inundated his features. When golf entered Gandalf's narrative however, Bilbo had to smile slightly, "I do believe you made that up."

"All good stories deserve some embellishment. You'll have a tale or two to tell when you come back."

"Can you promise that I will come back?"

Gandalf's voice was gentle when he replied, "No and if you do, you will not be the same."

"That's what I thought." Taking in a breath, convincing himself that he was doing the right thing, Bilbo rose, "I'm sorry Gandalf, I can't sign this. I can't leave…"

Seeing through to the reason Bilbo was grasping to like a life raft, Gandalf added, "Bilbo, do you really think she would let you go alone. You won't be leaving her. She hasn't changed so much that she still wouldn't go to the ends of the earth for you."

"But _I'm_ supposed to take care of _her_," he blurted, quickly looking about to ensure she wasn't within earshot to have heard. He caught no sign of her, although he guessed that was to be expected. She had snuck away earlier once bringing his tea. She was likely hiding in a shadow in the parlor behind the chair in the corner. Shaking his head again, pressing on before Gandalf could object, he said, "You've got the wrong hobbit."

With that, he went down the hall to his room, trusting the dwarves to take care of themselves and his roiling heart to calm down at some point.

Poppy sat right where Bilbo had supposed, resting her head against the wall in the dark space between Uncle Bungo's favorite chair and the corner. She'd hid there from her parents every time they had visited Bilbo and his parents. It was where she went when it was time to go home, hoping that her stealth would ensure her a few more hours with her cousin.

In the somber silence that had fallen over the house, she could hear Bilbo and Gandalf's conversation. Gandalf's words would weigh on him through the night and she had the strong inkling that when the morning came, she and Bilbo would be facing not an average day in the Shire but an adventure. She couldn't decide if the prospect excited her or not, though she supposed it didn't really matter. She was going for Bilbo, not for excitement or riches or whatever other reasons people went on adventures for. The decision had been made immediately by her heart, her mind not needed to give input. At some point, the impulsiveness of her heart was going to get her into trouble, but no part of her wanted the ease of those decisions to go away.

If Bilbo went, she was going to take care of him. He was a far gentler person than she by that point. The wild didn't scare her; Bilbo dying did.

Poppy remained in her sanctuary even as someone sat before her and she heard the sound of boots upon the floor. The dwarves gathered together without a word of beckoning and a deep hum arose. She could feel the depth of their voices as their words reached her ears and slowly began to rend her soul. Their words and the deep, echoing longing with which they sang them made her feel as if she had been dropped into a large cavern, alone and homesick in the darkness. It suddenly broke her heart that they no longer had their home. Their Bag End, their Shire, had been stolen.

_Far over the misty mountains cold  
To dungeons deep and caverns old  
We must away 'ere break of day,  
To find our long forgotten gold._

_The pines were roaring on the heights_

_The winds were mourning in the night. _

_The fire was red it flaming spread, _

_The trees like torches blazed with light._

A long silence echoed about the room as their humming faded into the shadows. The mood held, each of them reflecting upon their own thoughts and the day ahead before Balin offered, "All right, lads. The morning will come quickly and we'd best be ready for it."

Standing in the small space and pulling herself up and over the back of the chair to land on the arm and not Gloin's lap, Poppy reappeared, startling them all. Without a word or glance, she went to a linen cupboard in the wall and pulled out a large pile of blankets. Turning around, she nodded toward the hall and again took over the role of hostess, "Come on."

Even though Thorin had arrived and was unanimously their leader, Dwalin answered her, for some reason feeling more equipped to do so given the extra two hours in her company and her earlier reaction to their king, "We're perfectly fine on the floor, lass. We've each of us lived outside and in the wilds plenty."

Her quiet voice replied simply after a moment of pause, "You're not in the wild. You're in a home and you're welcomed. You get beds." A smile appeared then as she coaxed, her shell gone for that moment, "Come on."

Shuffling along behind her in a group like obedient children, the dwarves made their way down the hall. Stopping at the study, she popped in and pulled chair cushions off and made a couple of rough beds on the floor, "Four here." Bofur, Bombur, Bifur, and Dori stepped forward and took the blankets she proffered with thanks.

Wishing them a good night, she stepped out and went to the room Bilbo had slept in as a child before he'd taken up residence in the master's bedroom. There was one large bed and she quickly made up three more from various cushions she hauled in on the floor. "Five more." Dwalin, Ori, Nori, Oin, and Gloin took their blankets with similar thanks. She quietly wished them pleasant dreams.

The guest room was next and opening the door to reveal the bed that was always made up, she offered simply, "Thorin." Accepting her acknowledgement of his position as leader with a swell of appreciation that surprised him, he walked in and turned to thank her. Nodding at his words, she turned away without speaking. If the man wanted to intimidate those around him into silence, she could easily oblige him with absolute muteness on her part. She did not wish him a good evening and they all noticed.

Fili, Kili, and Balin were the last three and she led them around the corner to her room. With an actual bed, it would be the easiest place to put them, because she had the suspicion that the house was running out of cushions. With Thorin gone, she seemed to relax slightly. The dwarf royal's presence held a heavy weight and he scared her to be honest. Kind he may be, but he hadn't shown it to her so she would err on the side of extreme caution. Pushing open her doors, she set the remaining blankets on her armchair's footstool, looking about with a frown as to where to get more cushions.

Noting her problem, Balin offered with a smile, "The chair is fine for me, lass. Bad back."

"Are you sure?" At his nod, she smiled, "I just need to grab a few things and then it's yours."

She hopped lightly over her staff, intending to pick it up on her way out. Immediately dropping to the floor, she began purposefully rummaging about underneath her bed. "Is this your room, Poppy?" Fili questioned, kneeling down to pick up the instrument that had almost felled Bombur earlier. "We don't want to take it."

"Yes, it is," came her muffled answer from under the bed. "But, I have somewhere else."

Fili balanced the stick in his hand, a bit surprised at the weight. It must have been a hardwood of some kind. The dark staff reached to just about his chin, making it a bit taller than her. Kili grabbed it from him and pointed toward the bottom. Quite deeply indented into the wood was a bite mark that had to be from a large wolf, perhaps a small warg. The two younger dwarves looked to Balin for agreement and his silent nod confirmed their inference. Various other nicks and dents could be seen as well now that they looked for them.

Their new hobbit had done more with her staff than gone on a few walking holidays and take out an unsuspecting dwarf. Fili suddenly doubted it was a walking stick so much as a weapon. Their thoughts were all derailed when she crawled out from the bed, clutching a dark gray wool cloak and a handful of clothes in her hand. Walking over, she hesitantly retook her staff, as if feeling odd that someone else was touching it, "Thank you. Sleep well, Fili, Kili, and Balin." She gave them a parting smile and then was gone.

They looked after her until Balin stepped forward and shut the doors. Smiling slightly, he said as he grabbed a blanket and curled up in the chair, "I have the suspicion she is not one's average hobbit. Perhaps our burglar will prove the same. Good night, lads."

* * *

Extinguishing candles as she went, Poppy made her way back to the sitting room, finding Gandalf where she had left him with Bilbo earlier. Pulling on the cloak and placing her clothes on a shelf, she sat on the footrest before him, waiting for him to speak. "It was a kind thing you did there, Anna. None of them shall ever admit it, but they appreciate a nice bed and a warm fire given to them with a smile by a pretty girl."

Though she smiled at the compliment, Poppy remained silent, staring into the fire before them as Gandalf went back to his pipe. For a long, comfortable time they sat in silence as his smoke rings filled the space. Noting the height of the moon outside and how much night was likely gone, she finally stood, "Do you need somewhere to sleep?"

"No, I'm fine here, I promise you." She had turned when he asked, "Do you believe he will change his mind?"

"Yes. I don't know how long it will take, but yes, we'll come."

Letting out a small sound of relief, the wizard nodded, "I thought as much, too."

There was such a long pause that her next statement almost caught him off guard, "Thorin will not want me, will he?" Gandalf shook his head after only a tiny bit of thought. No, the dwarf king would not welcome a hobbit woman any more than he would a hobbit man, very likely even less. Poppy sounded surprisingly accepting when she shrugged, "I've been unwanted before. Good night, Gandalf."

"Good night, dear Anna." He watched as she left the room and made her way to the door, opening it and entering the slight chill of the spring night.

More than one restless dwarf heard the muffled sound of footsteps upon the grassy roof of Bag End that night as their new acquaintance curled beneath her cloak and went to sleep.

* * *

A/N: So, hello again.

I apologize that I didn't just tack this onto the previous chapter, but I got impatient about posting. On that note, I'm going to try and keep myself to a schedule of posting more every two days. I've never given myself a deadline like that before, but I think it could be good for me. Also, I changed the title for the couple of you who read before now. I'm terrible with titles on the whole and it's usually the last thing I figure out when writing, so if you've got an opinion on it, throw it at me. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :)


	4. Welcome to the Company

"Good morning to you, too."

Poppy smiled as the pair of wrens perched upon her side continued gaily welcoming the nascent morning. Apologizing to her pre-dawn companions, she sat up and stretched out the few kinks in her back. The wrens took flight for a few moments before settling beside her on the ground once again, singing away. She would never understand why animals liked her so much, but she was continually grateful for their innocent trust.

Humming quietly of blunting knives and what Bilbo Baggins hates, she slipped her cloak off and shook the dew from it before descending to the door, making her way through Bilbo's garden, plucking up a few weeds in the dimness of the morning as she went. As quietly as possible despite the creak Bilbo had yet to fix, she opened the front door and slipped inside.

Making her jump out of her skin, Gandalf's eyes were open in his sleep where he sat in the chair she'd left him in the night before. It took a hand over her mouth to keep the scared screech from getting out and waking him.

Well…that was unnerving. Gathering her wits, she grabbed the clothes she'd stowed away and hurried from the room. The intensely snore-filled silence that permeated the house convinced her that no one else was awake—_somehow_—and she was suddenly very pleased with her decision to sleep outside. Chuckling silently, she washed in the bathroom and dressed for the day.

Glancing at herself in the mirror, she suddenly wondered where the day would lead them. She would follow Bilbo and she was almost certain that he would follow the dwarves on their quest. Despite all the Baggins in him, she had the feeling they would jump headfirst into the unknown before the day was through. The Took in her smiled. She had dressed prepared.

Leaving her pajamas in the small laundry basket, she made her way to the study. The wall of sound that hit her head-on almost physically knocked her back. Smiling again, she shook her head and ventured inside. Bifur's eyes snapped open at her first footsteps and she gave him a small nod in greeting. He returned it with a grunt and a hushed word in Khuzdul she didn't understand.

Her intention had been to get Bombur, as she assumed he was their cook, but Bifur rose instead. Barking out a short word again, he looked at her, waiting for her to speak. Wondering absently if his foreign words had something to do with the axe blade in his forehead, she pointed to Bombur and then whispered, "Could he help with breakfast?"

Huffing with a nod, Bifur clapped himself on the chest. She assumed that meant he would help her. He gestured to the door and they exited quietly. Upon reaching the kitchen, the two worked in silence. He stoked the fire back to life and began cooking some sausages. Wondering what dwarves preferred to drink in the morning, she tapped him on the shoulder and held up a teapot and a bag of coffee. Grunting, he pointed to the coffee. Poppy gathered up all the muffins she had baked the day before and brewed a large batch of coffee.

Poppy supposed she should feel awkward standing there in silence with Bifur, both going about their business without another word to one another. But, she found it oddly comforting. She appreciated a happy silence. There was an odd kind of camaraderie between them already. The quiet ones stuck together.

It wasn't long after the smell of the sausages and coffee wafted down the hall that the dwarves began appearing, their hair and beards in various states of unkempt. Gandalf appeared not long after. Though they all seemed quite awake, their conversation was far more subdued. They spoke of ponies, provisions, and the best paths to take. Listening with half an ear, she poured coffee and remained near Bifur by the fire.

Fili, Kili, and Balin were the last to join the group, the former two sitting down with what looked suspiciously like mild hangovers. After returning the greetings of their brethren, they tore into their breakfast like the others. Frowning, looking up from the muffin he had just taken a bite out of, Fili searched the shadows until he found her, surprised to find her so close to Bifur. The rather wild old warrior tended to scare people off, though not her apparently. Pointing to her with it, he accused loudly, "You lied last night, Poppy!"

As all eyes turned toward her, she unconsciously took a step back to hide behind Bifur. Her voice was almost inaudible when she replied with confusion, "I did?"

"Yes, you said you needed to _learn_ to bake. That is ridiculous because these are glorious." As they all chuckled, she smiled warmly at the compliment, genuinely flattered.

"Aye to that, lass," Bofur added emphatically.

Taking a real look at her for the first time that morning, Kili frowned. Despite her long curly hair and decidedly more feminine figure, she rather looked like Bilbo. She wore dark grey pants that came just below her knees, like Bilbo had, and a sage green shirt whose sleeves she'd rolled up to her elbows, like Bilbo had. Admittedly, her suspenders hung at her sides and she appeared to have some sort of dark-colored bodice on underneath, but the few hobbit women he'd seen on their way there had flounced about in bright, colorful dresses with lace, bows, and aprons.

After swallowing down his muffin with a gulp of coffee, he questioned, "Poppy, is that something hobbit women usually wear?" They all saw her visibly blush and attempt to hide behind her dark hair. Fili on one side and Dwalin on the other both promptly punched him on either arm. "_What_?! She is wearing suspenders!"

Sighing, Poppy replied while climbing atop the counter with an effortless boost from Bifur to grab the honey for them, "You are an incredibly astute dwarf, Master Kili."

The room was echoing with laughter when she hopped down a moment later. At the almost sullen look on Kili's face, she couldn't withhold a smile to cheer him as she handed him the honey.

Their meal was done and they had again washed the dishes and still Bilbo had not risen. After the dwarves had all gathered their things, they lingered in the foyer, looking sadly down the hallway. Balin solemnly laid Bilbo's unsigned contract upon the end table and then the group just as somberly followed Thorin out the door. Holding it open for them, Poppy was bid goodbye by them all in subdued tones, though both Fili and Kili gave her wry smiles.

Gandalf was the last in line, kneeling before her with a smile, "I shall see you later, my dear?"

She simply smiled and gave him a small hug. As the wizard left and descended the garden stairs, she held her hand up in a wave before shutting the green door. The company started off as soon as he reached them, Kili looking back every few steps. Sighing when Bag End was out of view, Gandalf said loudly, "By all means, Master Kili, ask what is on your mind before you get a kink in your neck."

The young dwarf waited for the chuckles to die down before asking, "Has she always been like that? Poppy, I mean."

"Has she always been like what?"

He struggled for a long moment, searching for the right word given the wizard's dangerous tone. Ori was the one to offer thoughtfully, "Hesitant? Diffident, perhaps?"

"Yes!" Kili shouted, pointing back at the scholar in agreement. "Hesitant. She's a mute one moment and happy the next, like she can't make up her mind if she likes life."

Rolling his eyes, Fili gently shoved his little brother, "Neither can you half the time."

Following Fili's remark, not turning around or slowing his long stride, Gandalf replied with a slight tightness in his voice, "First, I'd imagine that most everyone is hesitant at one point or another, especially when their home has been invaded by a company of dwarves. Secondly…no, she wasn't. She was far, far louder. She had energy that would put you and Fili combined to shame and you would have found yourself confronted with far more than being named 'an astute dwarf'."

"What happened?" Ori asked cautiously, his insatiable curiosity getting the better of him as it usually did. "Why is she quiet now?"

The pain was clear in the wizard's voice when he answered curtly, "Not even hobbits are immune to change and misfortune, Master Ori, no matter how much they'd like to believe they are. And I shall say no more on the matter for it is not any of your or anyone's business."

Though Gandalf's tone had clearly ended conversation upon the topic of Poppy Gamgee, Thorin closed an incredibly heavy stone door upon it, locking it away even more. "We will not ever see her again, regardless. A quest is not a place for a woman, even _if_ the burglar shows up."

Gandalf did not see any wisdom in correcting the dwarf, so remained silent as the group's conversation turned to other, simpler things. Betting on whether Bilbo would show up for instance.

* * *

"Hello?"

With growing relief, Bilbo ambled through his home, finding absolutely nothing out of place and absolutely no dwarves. For a moment, he wondered if he had just had an incredibly vivid dream and none of it had actually happened. That thought immediately left him mind when he entered the sitting room, seeing the unsigned contract on the table—_his_ unsigned contract.

Quite unexpectedly, a wave of self-disappointment washed over him.

Sighing, he made his way to the open door that was letting the midmorning sun in. Peering out, he found Poppy sitting upon the garden bench, patching a piece of clothing. She gave him a small smile at his appearance that disappeared when she turned back to her work.

"They've gone?"

Poppy nodded and replied quietly, "Yes, about an hour and a half ago."

For a long moment, the two cousins gazed at one another, the unvoiced question clear from where it hung in the air between them. Biting his lip, Bilbo looked down at the contract in his hand. Unsigned. Looking back up, seeing the expectant look in her eyes, waiting for him to decide either way, he let out a deep breath, "What do you suppose I'll need on an…adventure?"

A smile spread across both their faces as she stood and grabbed his hand. They raced back into the house, packing in a rush.

Poppy finished first, never having really unpacked two years ago. Her heavy wool cloak and a couple other pieces of warm clothing found themselves stowed tightly in her bag along with an extra change of men's clothes, a water skein, needles and thread, and an array of dried herbs. Smiling at the almost comforting weight of something she'd had for so long, she tied her staff into its diagonal slot across her pack. Grabbing her thinner summer cloak and stowing it away, she gave herself a nod. She was ready.

Bilbo was not long behind her, shoving things into his pack at random that he vaguely thought he'd need until it was overflowing. As he shoved, she calmly removed the things he wouldn't need and packed the discarded warm clothing until he slowed down. Taking a deep breath and looking manically about the room, he asked, "Do we need anything else?"

Her smile was warm when she replied, "Breakfast and a book." She held out both to him. Disregarding table manners for the sake of time, he stuffed the last remaining muffin in the house into his mouth and the book into his sack. Chewing as he went, he grabbed the contract, signing it hastily and then raced to the front door, Poppy not far behind.

Bilbo paused only to look at his closed door once they were outside. He was really doing this. They weren't turning back now…

Silently, Poppy reached out and grasped his hand comfortingly. Squeezing hers in thanks, he gave her a short smile and then turned and sprinted down the lane. They were going on an adventure!

* * *

"WAIT! Wait!"

Thorin and company all stopped as a shout and some much winded puffing caught their attention. More than one dwarf was caught with an incredulous look upon his face at the sight of two little hobbits running through the brush. Panting far less, Poppy was only a few steps behind Bilbo. As Bilbo stumbled forward, holding his contract aloft, Gandalf sent the girl a conspiratorial smile that she returned with a nod. Thorin caught the interaction and his brow furrowed.

"I-I've signed it," Bilbo explained, handing the paper to Balin.

The elderly dwarf looked at him with searching eyes for a moment, a tiny smile below the surface that came out when his pony swung its head affectionately into the girl. Smile lighting up her face, Poppy cooed quietly to the animal and scratched its forelock. Bilbo stepped warily away from the furry form of transportation even as Fili and Kili's ponies stepped forward, snorting into her hair in hopes of attention without any provocation from their riders.

Balin pulled out a magnifier and took a quick look at the signature. "Everything appears to be in order. Welcome, Master Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield." Smiling warmly, the old dwarf gave Bilbo an encouraging wink as some cheers arose.

They immediately stopped when Thorin commanded, "Get him a pony."

Stuttering as no fewer than six ponies had surrounded him in an effort to get to his cousin, much to the confusion of their riders, Bilbo protested, "No, no, no! No, that won't be necessary. I'm sure I can keep up fine on foot. I-I've been on my share of walking holidays. Poppy is the animal person, not me, you see." At a look from Thorin, Fili and Kili both grabbed Bilbo's shoulders and lifted him upon the pack pony that had come over to see Poppy.

"You!" Thorin started loudly, pointing to Poppy who immediately shrunk into herself. The company held its breath for a moment, unsure of where their leader was going. He didn't use that tone often, usually only on his nephews. "Go home."

At the hardness of his words and the very idea of leaving Bilbo, Poppy's limbs stiffened, setting themselves rigid in a mixture of fear and stubbornness. She uttered no sound and made no move, just affixed the king with a gaze colder than his. She feared him, feared how he looked at her like she was worthless, but no one on that green earth was going to take her away from her cousin.

At her defiance, he spurred his pony toward her, wanting her to become scared and balk, saving her life in the long run. There was no promise of safety on their journey and he wasn't about to have this girl's life on his conscience. Even as his mount came right up to her, jostling her shoulder with its head, she held her ground. "You are not a part of this company, girl, nor will you be one," Thorin stated icily, trying once again. Still he was met with stony silence.

Dwarf and hobbit stared one another down until Poppy turned away, letting him win their stare down but not the altercation.

Shouldering her pack better, she shot Bilbo a shaky grin from beneath her hair before striding forward, heading in the same direction they were. A few of the ponies followed her a few steps until their riders checked them. Upon passing the wizard, she shared with him another grin. She may not be in the company, but she was _not_ leaving it.

She was almost fifty meters ahead and had veered to the other side of the trees when the company began moving again. When Thorin came up beside Gandalf again, he caught the displeasure in the wizard's gaze. "I will _not_ have a woman in my company, Gandalf, especially one who cannot fight and cannot carry her weight."

Gandalf murmured, "A better forester you will not find amongst anyone of any age or stature, Thorin Oakenshield. And she can carry far more than you suspect." It was high praise, but Gandalf thought it honestly only a small exaggeration.

"_No_, Gandalf."

Sighing, Gandalf uttered sharply, "Whether you do this for pride, stubbornness, or some oddly conveyed kind of care for her safety, I do not know, but it will not work. She _won't_ turn back." Having said his piece, the wizard turned his horse and trotted back to ride beside Bilbo.

The poor hobbit was far out of his element atop his pony as was easily seen. The direction Poppy's appearance had taken had not improved his mood. He and Poppy went together, that was how it had always been. Even after she had disappeared for so many years, that feeling between them had come back immediately. They were a pair until someone else happened to come along for either of them. It had been an unspoken rule of nature since they were children. They went together.

Gandalf's appearance calmed him a bit, though he did blame the wizard for getting him into this mess of an adventure. The Baggins side of him was fighting quite gallantly against the Took, though he supposed the Took side was winning by sheer willpower. He and the wizard rode in silence for a bit before Oin behind them called cheerfully, "Pay up, Nori!"

A small bag of coin suddenly flew through the air between them, causing Bilbo to jump slightly. Frowning, he watched as money began to be thrown about everywhere. "What's that about?"

"Oh, they took wagers on whether or not you'd turn up," Gandalf explained. "Most of them bet that you wouldn't."

"And what did you think?"

The old man made a noncommittal noise before quite suddenly catching his own bag of coin. Smiling, he replied, "My dear fellow, I never doubted you for a second."

Sneezing suddenly, Bilbo groaned miserably. "Oh, all this horsehair. I must be having a reaction." Digging about in his pockets, he frowned suddenly. "Wait, wait, stop!" The company came to a direct halt, and those watching noted that Poppy paused as well from her place slightly ahead. "We have to turn around."

"What on earth is the matter?" Gandalf queried, a sense of upcoming annoyance in his voice.

"I've forgotten my handkerchief."

Bofur graciously ripped a bit off the bottom of his shirt and offered, "Here, use this." Bilbo caught the dirty cloth and stared at it as the others chuckled.

Voice still stony, Thorin declared, "Move on."

Rising high on the breeze, Poppy's voice reached them a moment after, "The right side pocket of your pack, Bilbo!" The dwarves laughed more as Bilbo scrambled to realize she was right. Thorin groaned low in his throat.

The hobbit had quite thoroughly blown his nose and felt immensely better, though a bit foolish, when Gandalf stated, "You'll have to manage without pocket handkerchiefs and a good many other things, Bilbo Baggins, before you reach your journey's end. You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire, but home is behind you, the world is ahead."

Smiling a bit, Bilbo had to chuckle at himself, "I suppose you are right. Although," he paused and looked ahead, seeing Poppy's walking stick bouncing just over the next hill, "home isn't really all behind me. Poppy is here."

Smiling with a nod, Gandalf agreed, "That is the way to look at it, dear Bilbo." With that, Gandalf's horse lengthened its stride, stretching its legs from the ponies' short pace. Ori was soon beside Bilbo, asking him all manner of questions concerning hobbits, the Shire, his life, his family, and positively anything else the young inquisitive dwarf could think of. Bilbo had to admit, it was rather nice to have someone with which to talk about gardening.

* * *

A/N: Hi again everyone! So, I just wanted to say that I'm going to be taking a bit of liberty with the timeline from this point on. In the book it takes a month and a half to get to Rivendell and the movie feels like a few days. I'm going to have something in between depending on where my muse takes me, so don't be alarmed. :) Thanks so much for the reviews; they make my day! So, thanks for reading, review if you could, and I hope you enjoyed!


	5. Talk of Orcs and Owls

Somewhere in the course of the day—during which they made no stops—Poppy disappeared from sight. Bilbo knew he should not be worried; if anyone was comfortable out in the hills and small woods they were making their way through, it was his cousin. After the third hour of her absence, Thorin smiled to himself. She had gotten smart and turned back, her hobbit feet likely too sore to continue on. At least, that's what he was sincerely hoping.

The sun was almost completely gone from the sky when the company stopped for the night at the side of a small cliff amongst the trees of the Brandywine's river valley. Chatter continued as they all dismounted and began preparations for dinner. Grabbing his things from his mount, Thorin called, "Fili, Kili, look after the ponies."

A sudden hush fell before his nephews could reply in acceptance and he turned around. Poppy had appeared, walking straight into camp without a word. Reaching into her pack, she brought forth a few wild vegetables she'd gathered and tossed them to Bombur, who stood next to the dinner pot. Grabbing a pear from her pocket, she took a bite and then clucked to the ponies, all of whom enthusiastically followed her to a grassy edge of camp.

Noting Gandalf's pointed gaze, Thorin groaned low in his throat. "Go home, girl."

She stopped at his words and glanced back over her shoulder, blue eyes dark in the firelight. Thorin was unable to read her face and it bothered him. He was generally rather good at that, but the hobbit woman gave up nothing. With an amount of humbleness and perhaps even deference, she answered, "No thank you, sir."

Not looking back, Poppy unsaddled all of the ponies, reveling in their cheerful, unassuming company. They constantly lipped at her pockets, attempting to find something sweet inside. Within a few moments, after conversation had begun again, Fili and Kili approached hesitantly, as if unsure how to proceed given they were told to do the job and given she and Thorin's…rocky conversations. She gave them a small smile in greeting before turning quietly back to her task.

Sighing, taking the weight of the situation upon his shoulders, Kili whispered earnestly, "Poppy, you really shouldn't challenge uncle like that."

With all her might, Poppy had hoped the display from earlier wouldn't be terribly noticed. She knew that everyone had been there, everyone had seen and heard, but she hoped that they'd…she wasn't quite sure. She'd hoped that they would all just chalk it up to hobbit oddity or females being nonsensical. The last thing she'd wanted was to 'defy' Thorin in front of his men who looked to him for leadership. That wasn't her intent. The king just hadn't allowed things to go easily.

Biting her lip worriedly, she turned to face them, a pleading look in her eyes. Kili was looking down at his feet, as if too uncomfortable to even look at her. Heart sinking, her eyes flitted to find the elder's. Even as Kili let out another heavy sigh, shuffling uncomfortably beside them in a way rather unusual for him, she intently held Fili's hazel gaze. She _needed_ someone to understand.

A frown darkened the blonde's features for a moment before they softened into a smile. "She's not trying to challenge him, Kili. She just won't leave Bilbo." His smile took on an encouraging air, "Uncle will just have to come around eventually."

Glancing at the dwarf in question, Kili couldn't hold back a snort to go with his eye roll, "Because that happens _so_ often."

"I can wait him out." At their disbelieving looks, she explained, "I have lived outside before. I did this," she gestured to the wilderness about them," for years. …I can't fight and I can't burgle, but I'm can't leave Bilbo, either." Glancing at their uncle and then back to them, she smiled, "But I promise not to antagonize Thorin."

Laughing, Fili squeezed her shoulder and winked before retreating to the fire with Kili, "That's probably for the best. Sleep well, Poppy."

* * *

True to her word, Poppy stayed unobtrusively by the ponies for the rest of the evening. Bifur brought her a serving of dinner, barking out in Khuzdul when Gloin questioned what he was doing: _She brought food._ Thorin did not look pleased but did not object when she looked to him, so she accepted it with a nod of thanks.

He couldn't very well let her starve. He wasn't _that_ cold of a person.

Plopping down beside her, Bifur remained between her and the others through the evening. Again, neither said a word. In the faint light, she rubbed the ponies that had lain beside her as Bifur and Gandalf pulled out their pipes, releasing their smoke rings to the sky.

The moon had risen and many were asleep when Bilbo scrambled up, unable to catch a wink of sleep with Bombur snoring as loud as…Bilbo couldn't even come up with a proper comparison in his sleep-deprived state. He couldn't get past the gnats that were being continually pulled into and then blown out of the dwarf's nose. Stretching, trying not to notice how everyone still awake stared, Bilbo awkwardly made his way over to the ponies.

Pulling an apple from his pocket, he smiled at his pony and rubbed her forelock, "Hello there, girl. There's a good girl." Oddly enough, he was beginning to like the animal. "Here you go, Myrtle. It'll be our little secret. You must tell no one."

Poppy couldn't help her slight giggle at her cousin's shaggy new friend and Bifur grunted with what she took to be amusement. Hearing both, Bilbo turned to her with a smile, about to say something when an odd, high scream rose out of the valley below. Poppy knew it to just be a screech owl on the hunt, but her cousin did not. "What-What was that?"

She was about to answer him, but Kili beat her to it. "Orcs," he breathed ominously, making both his brother and her look at him and then one another with confusion. Fili soon caught on, however.

"Or-Orcs?!" Bilbo exclaimed. Thorin jumped awake at the fear in the hobbit's voice.

Picking up the joke where Kili left off, Fili nodded, "Aye, throat-cutters. There'll be dozens of them out there. The lowlands are crawling with them."

"Yes, they attack in the wee small hours when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet, hardly any screams. Just lots of blood."

"But-But we're still in the Shire…mostly." They were right on the border, just near the Brandywine. Slightly panicked, Bilbo immediately turned to back toward the ponies, "Poppy?"

None of the wakeful dwarves failed to notice he took his fearful question straight to his cousin instead of one of them or even Gandalf who should have been thought the wisest of them all. As Kili and Fili began chuckling from their place, Poppy replied calmly, "No, Bilbo. Just a screech owl."

"You think that's funny, do you?" Thorin's voice was entertaining a level of harshness that was far beyond what he had unleashed upon her earlier that day and she almost felt sorry for his two nephews…almost. The brothers immediately looked chastised without another word, though Thorin pressed on, "You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?"

Kili was unable to meet his uncle's eye when he muttered contritely, "We didn't mean anything by it."

The bite in Thorin's voice sounded strongly of bitterness to Poppy, though she didn't know him well enough to make that assumption. Thankfully, he spared her no glance when he stomped by with final words of, "No, you didn't. You know nothing of the world."

Bifur huffed beside her, as if in agreement with chastising the two for their treatment of the hobbit. Some introductory ribbing was acceptable, but they did not need to scare the poor lad to death. Balin's soothing voice came as a balm for the tension that had arisen, "Don't mind him, laddie. Thorin has more cause than most to hate orcs."

Listening as Balin began the story of how Thorin earned his name and the battle of Moria, Poppy looked over to see Bifur's eyes close and his face take upon an expression of pain, as if remembering. As she heard of the Pale Orc and the wanton destruction of the battle and Thorin's courage and subsequent grief, she wondered if Bifur had gotten his wound that day, if that was the day Thorin had become so bitter. And she supposed she couldn't blame him. She at times had a darkly bitter view of the world and the turns it had given her and she had fought in no battles and had no evil being seeking to destroy her very existence and that of her family.

"And I thought to myself, there is one I could follow." Balin's voice, choked with emotion, struck her from her thoughts. "There is one I could call king."

Thorin turned at that moment to find his men all standing in honor of him, many of them remembering that day. Poppy remained in her place on the ground, inconspicuous and quiet, but Bilbo asked from where he had listened enraptured to the story, "And the Pale Orc, what happened to him?"

"He slunk back into hole from whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long ago."

Just as Thorin's words effectively put the Pale Orc to his death, his tone laid the conversation to rest. From her place in the darkness, Poppy did not miss the worried glance Balin and Gandalf exchanged. They were not as convinced as Thorin was of evil's demise, though they voiced nothing. There was no more talking that night as all then found their bedrolls except for Bifur on watch.

Pulling her heavy cloak around her and gripping her staff, Poppy settled on a soft patch of grass for the night, pulling her arm beneath her head for a pillow. She heard an amused grunt from Bifur a moment later when Fili's white dappled pony, Moira, began lipping lazily at her hair.

Sighing, she gently swatted at the animal, though the pony resumed her nibbling immediately after. "Good night to you, too, Moira."

* * *

A/N: So, it's not Monday yet and this chapter isn't much, but you guys have all been so excited with your reviews and the amount of follows I'm getting, I decided to jump the gun a bit. :) I've got the day off for Martin Luther King Day tomorrow, so I'll still try and get enough done to put up some more. I can't thank you all enough for your reviews. I try and reply to all of them, so if you have any thoughts or questions, I'll get back to you within a day or two. :) So, thanks for reading, review if you could, and I hope you enjoyed. :)


	6. And I Must Follow

The next morning, Poppy woke again to a bird upon her chest. She blinked her eyes open to find a plump little bluebird twittering away, absently pecking at her cloak in search of seeds. Smiling at the creature, she let it sing on in uninterrupted bliss for a few more moments before sitting up and forcing it to take flight. Shaking her cloak of dew again and then stowing it away, Poppy rose and stretched to find only Bofur awake on watch. The dwarf gave her a nod and a smile from beneath his hat, the former of which she returned.

Careful not to disturb Bifur who was snoring near her, Poppy began quietly saddling the ponies. The creatures absently mouthed at their bits as she tightened their girths and gave them a scratch of good morning. Shouldering her pack and shaking out her hair, she gave Bofur a parting wave and then pressed forward in the direction the company would take.

Given the Great East Road was the easiest path to take when going east, as the name suggested, the only route that they would logically take was following it over Brandywine Bridge. Having a more heightened dislike—hatred really—of rivers and the mere faint prospect of swimming than the average hobbit, Poppy knew that she would likely end up crossing after the company and having to catch up despite her head start. The last time she had crossed the Brandywine it had taken her three hours…

* * *

"Poppy…? Poppy?"

Looking about in confusion, Bilbo was unable to find his cousin in the dawn light as the dwarves all rose for the day, quickly eating their cold breakfast.

"She's left already," Bofur explained helpfully, stowing his things in his pack and chewing upon a biscuit.

That was enough for Bilbo and he nodded in understanding, bending down to gather his own things, but Ori was curious, "Left for where? Did she go home?" He seemed distinctly put out by the idea.

"If she's smart," Thorin produced darkly.

Bifur grunted harshly, clearly stating he doubted she'd done so. Shaking his head, Bofur replied with what sounded strongly of amusement, "No. She saddled the ponies and then went on ahead. I think she wanted a head start."

The company turned to see that the ponies were all standing there in drowsy states of readiness. The only things left to pack were people's bags and the larger burdens for the pack ponies. Gandalf and Bilbo both smiled at her silent gift.

Thorin groaned. So that was her strategy: be so helpful it made it difficult to hate her. No matter the girl's tactic or determination, however, she would see what was ahead of her when they first hit trouble. She would learn then. His botanical knowledge was limited, but he remembered poppies being easily blown over in the wind. "Let's move on."

* * *

"Oh no…"

"What now, laddie?" Dwalin groaned with irritation as the hobbit began mumbling. If he said he'd forgotten some other ridiculous little accessory like a handkerchief, the dwarf was tempted to take a swipe at his curly little head. "Have ye forgotten something _again_?"

Shaking a hand distractedly in the dwarf's direction without looking at him, Bilbo muttered with clear preoccupation, "No. No, nothing like that."

They were coming down the hill just west of the Brandywine and he distinctly recognized the small figure at the edge of the bridge, standing right in the middle of the road, unmoving aside from the wind in her hair and cloak. Luckily, there was no one yet out and about. As they descended, Bilbo and undoubtedly everyone else saw her take one incredibly hesitant step forward actually onto the bridge.

Her foot went out but she put no weight on it. Bilbo imagined her eyes were firmly closed and her breathing rather shallow.

Heart tugging painfully in his chest, he began energetically flapping Myrtle's reins, bouncing in an attempt to get her moving. "Let's go, Myrtle. Come on girl, go!" Whickering in reply, the pony didn't understand what on earth he was trying to do until his foot slipped during a bounce and came to prod her sharply in the side. Finally knowing what he wanted, she trotted hastily forward, leaving the dwarves and Gandalf behind within seconds.

Looking on with clear surprise that was mirrored on his companions' faces, Bofur remarked, "I didn't think he knew they could go that fast…"

As Myrtle picked up speed, Bilbo was increasingly jostled as they descended, though he refused to try and slow down the pony. He needed to get to Poppy before they did. When he did try and stop her, he found it harder than he'd anticipated. They overshot Poppy by almost half the bridge. Finally shouting, "STOP!" he brought his ride to a halt and quickly scrambled out of the saddle, almost falling on his face in his haste.

Padding quickly back toward his cousin, Bilbo firmly and comfortingly grasped her hand. Tiny, almost imperceptible smile of thanks on her face beneath her now open eyes, she squeezed back and let out a deep, shaky breath. With his support she took her first real step onto the bridge.

Bilbo's first instinct was to talk, not about anything in particular, but just try and take Poppy's mind off her surroundings. Watching as her eyes became glued to the running water and the blood subsequently drained from her face, he trusted that feeling. "How far do you think we're going to get today? I've looked at maps and Erebor is terribly far away. I haven't asked Gandalf but I'm thinking it will take at the very least two months. It's May now… Hmm, I wonder where we will be celebrating your birthday. We'll have to teach the dwarves how to properly celebrate such a holiday. Do you suppose they celebrate their birthdays? They have so many."

Letting out a watery laugh, Poppy leaned her head on her cousin's shoulder. He pressed a kiss to her head through the dark curls as they kept walking. She commented quietly, "I haven't the faintest idea. I'm sure Ori would tell you. He seems to be their scholar."

"Indeed, we had the _loveliest_ conversation about gardening yesterday: I talked and he listened intently. He didn't know that both carrots and potatoes grew underground. Sometimes I wonder how they eat." They had reached the center and he subtly grabbed Myrtle's reins. Turning, he saw that the company was still a few minutes from the bridge.

She shrugged against his shoulder, "Dwarves usually buy their food, I think."

"I think that Bifur has taken a bit of a shine to you. I was almost scared to go up to you last night," Bilbo said with a mixture of seriousness and amusement.

She picked her head up and cocked an eyebrow, "A 'shine'? Really, the word you want to use is a 'shine'?!"

Ignoring the huff of irritation she let out, he merely queried with a grin, "Has he said a word to you yet?"

"Not one I can understand. We understand one another, though, I think. We're the quiet ones. There's solidarity in silence." Bilbo didn't really understand but nodded anyway, trusting her judgment. "Bilbo…how many more rivers are there between here and Erebor?"

Without having to think, he knew the answer. He'd been studying maps for as long as he could remember and knew the locations of many places he'd never thought he'd ever visit. "Four big ones. I couldn't say about streams and whatnot."

"Four." He couldn't tell from her tone what exactly she felt about that number, though he had no doubt her thoughts were not alright with it. She'd hide it as best she could, but he had a feeling something like today would happen again. He suddenly wished he hadn't allowed her to come…allowed himself to come.

They had taken the last step off the bridge when she nodded, "Thank you, Bilbo." Hearing the hollow clop of the other ponies' hooves on the wood, she managed to straighten herself, though he saw the effort it took. Hugging Bilbo, she gave him a small grateful smile before bounding off on the road ahead that led them through Buckland without another word.

Rubbing Myrtle's head, Bilbo took his time remounting, not looking forward to the questions he anticipated would come. It was none of the dwarves' business what had just happened and he intended to keep it that way. In the lead as usual, Gandalf leaned down and took a gentle hold of Myrtle's reins, keeping the hobbit in the front with him with his horse's quicker pace. The wizard seemed to have read his thoughts. Bilbo's pony was unhappy with the arrangement, but she was a gentle enough creature that she didn't complain.

Though it took a mile or so, conversation picked up again and Bilbo was saved from uncomfortable questions. To his great surprise, not a single one of the dwarves whispered in that hour. They were just quiet. He didn't know if they had some odd sign language he didn't catch, but he heard not a word about the event from any of them.

That was always what he hated when people came to visit or saw Poppy on the road or out in town. It had gotten better as the months had worn on, but he remembered the initial reaction. She couldn't show her face anywhere without there being a less-than-subtle eruption of whispering behind her. Some of it was harmless, genuine wonderings after her health and well-being. Most of it was not. Much of it concerned her oddity and the complete deviation from the life of a proper hobbit woman she had taken. Tales of what she'd done, where she'd been, who she'd been with, and what she'd done with them were discussed before she or Bilbo even left the room. Somehow not speaking to them personally in twenty years had made her incapable of hearing them speak in their minds. A gentle enough fellow, it burned even Bilbo's insides to the point he wanted to just take his pipe and begin soundly beating his neighbors about the head with it.

Perhaps—though he thought it to be a very large, potent _perhaps_—being with the company of dwarves would help her. It was always when the whispering and pointing and harsh words began that she simply stopped trying and closed up. The men about him seemed to appreciate the delicate skill of allowing one to keep his business to himself, however. Bilbo Baggins quite suddenly found himself in agreement and accordance with at least one thing that dwarves believed without question.

Well, he found himself in that state for almost two hours. At that point, he found himself set upon by two rhyming riders bearing questions and queries. Fili and Kili had ridden forward with the express purpose of asking about his puzzling cousin. Gandalf had long since released Myrtle's reins and they were able to come up on either side of him, blocking his escape.

"So Bilbo," Kili began, voice oozing with charm and affability, "what can you tell us about your _lovely_ cousin?"

Bilbo bristled. "She is _my_ cousin and if you do anything more than call her lovely I will rip out your braids with my bare hands," the hobbit replied flatly. Glancing back as Fili snorted, he continued, "Both of you."

Laughing at the hobbit's surprising fire, Balin suggested, "Perhaps you'd better try and woo the lass in secret, lads. It doesn't look like you'll get any aid from this one." The company laughed at that, causing the two brothers to blush ever so slightly.

Throwing his arm around the hobbit's shoulders, Fili soothed with a grin, "We didn't mean it like _that_, Bilbo. See, we've learned all about you. You like your books and maps and your dishes. Also, you're terrible at being outside."

Bilbo groaned, leaning away from the dwarf's grasp only to find the other one sitting there smiling at him. Slumping under the weight of Fili's arm, he sighed sarcastically, "Thank you for that. You're too kind."

"We just want to know about her. What's she like? Why did she come?"

Fili knew the answer to that last question, but he wondered if Bilbo did. He wondered if Bilbo knew that she cared for him that much. Looking to the south side of the road as they rode into the shadow of the Old Forest, Kili queried, "What's she do all day in there?"

Attempting with all his might to figure out how to make Myrtle go again, Bilbo replied with strain, "I honestly don't know. I'm not with her. As to all the rest, why don't you just ask _her_?!"

He froze as he realized what he'd just said. He imagined Fili and Kili cornering her at some point and peppering her with questions… He could just see her eyes widening and her easiness being stamped out like an unfortunate bug. On second thought, he declared, "Wait! Wait, no, don't ask her. What did you want to know about her again? If you ask _anything_ untoward, I swear…!" His voice rose as he left his sentence hanging, making the brothers laugh.

Sighing heavily in feigned seriousness, they both rested their hands over their hearts. Then, almost as if they'd rehearsed it beforehand, they said in unison, "We promise on our honor as dwarves of the house of Durin that we will do nothing untoward or call Poppy more than lovely ever again."

Clearly surprised that had worked, Bilbo stuttered out, "Wow. Do-Do you two always do that? Are you twins or something?" They didn't look similar, but he'd seen twins who didn't look alike before.

Chuckling, Kili swatted Bilbo's arm in a way the hobbit supposed was friendly for a dwarf but made him almost lose his seat. A quick steadying hand from Fili kept him from leaving Myrtle and meeting the ground. Not noticing, Kili replied, "No. Fili here's the older one. He's five years greyer."

"Aye," Fili rolled his eyes, taking a swing at his brother over Bilbo's head, "five years smarter, more like."

Smiling at their antics, being reminded a bit of him and Poppy once upon a time, Bilbo asked, "So, what did you want to know about Poppy?"

"Is she always this stubborn?" came Thorin's dark tones from behind them.

Coughing uncomfortably even as Fili and Kili leaned away, giving the hobbit his space once their uncle's presence was made known, Bilbo felt uneasy answering. Gandalf's laugh bit through the tension from his forward position, "You, Thorin Oakenshield, are hardly one to talk about stubbornness. And yes, yes she is. It's a family trait, I'm afraid. You should have met her mother."

Thinking of his beloved aunt, Bilbo chuckled. It was true; Belinda Gamgee had been a force to be reckoned with. Thorin grunted with irritation at the wizard but the old man took no mind, merely peering into the trees with a small smile.

There was some silence, Fili and Kili uncertain whether to continue or not, when Ori asked, "If you don't mind me asking, Master Gandalf, what is this forest? It looks most peculiar."

There was a murmur of consent that ran through the group. Dwarves preferred mountains by nature, not the indelible mazes that were forests. However, this one looked…worse, wilder and darker than those in the Shire and near Ered Luin. It put even the grizzled warriors on edge. It just felt hostile.

"It's called the Old Forest by most, though it was once part of what is Fangorn Forest thousands of years ago before the sea rose up and the Second Age began. The Ents left it and moved south, though most hobbits still believe that the trees are alive, that they move about and talk to one another."

The words were true but they did not come from Gandalf and every dwarf jumped in his saddle and reached for a weapon, a shout on his lips. All that is except for Bifur. He huffed in amusement until he was breathless as the hobbit lass continued calmly munching on the jerky he'd just given her. She'd been walking beside his pony for the last mile without anyone the wiser, merely smiling as Bilbo was set upon by Fili and Kili. Her cheeks had reddened at the extreme interest they had taken in her.

Bifur liked her; she didn't use words lightly and seemed just as comfortable out and about as he did. She didn't shy away from him, either, which was a pleasant change. Though most seemed disconcerted to be caught so off-guard, he noted a good number of his companions smile after sheathing their weapons. Gloin's eyes softened, Bombur's round cheeks curved into a smirk, Bofur began to laugh, and Dori's look was almost impressed. Bifur wasn't sure how long it would take, but the lass would win them all over eventually. By the bright-eyed smirk on Fili's face, he guessed she had one she could count as a friend already.

Pulling back on his pony, Ori came to ride on her other side. Though he'd looked the most fearful at her unexpected appearance, the thirst for knowledge he was known for had soon washed everything else away. "Was it really that large? Where did you learn this?"

Nodding, she explained with a voice lower than previously, "Yes, it was. This would've been right after your kin moved down to Khazad-dûm from Ered Luin for the first time. Before Sauron and those wars. It would've been part of a forest large enough to be compared to Doriath."

"What's Doriath?" After the first few words and the mention of Khazad-dûm, he'd pulled out his writing book and was scratching hastily away. Poppy couldn't help but smile at his excitement. He was like Bilbo with a new map.

"It was the realm of Thingol and Melian, a Sindar and a Maia. It was an enormous forest protected by an enchantment she placed upon it. They referred to it as her girdle. They were Luthien's parents if you're familiar with that story."

Growling low in his throat before spitting harshly at the ground, Gloin grunted, "What's with all this elf talk? Learn about something interesting, Ori, for sanity's sake. Isn't there anything you can scribble about that doesn't have to do with the damned elves?"

Frowning at the older dwarf as Ori all but deflated—an action she knew all too well—Poppy commented with feigned lightness, "Should you find a way to become immortal and have thousands of years to make the world's history, master dwarf, I'm sure the elves will decide to study you instead of themselves. Until then, perhaps you'll allow the scholars to study what they will, given they don't tell you warriors who to kill."

Patting Ori's black pony on the neck and smiling at his rider, she nodded her head toward the front of the group, "Gandalf will know more. I learned most of it from him." Meeting Bifur's eyes with a small smile of parting, she ducked beneath his pony's head and went to disappear into the darkness amongst the trees.

She halted when a warm voice called, "Do they?"

Glancing back over her shoulder through her curls, she saw Fili grinning widely at her, his pony out of line and turned back toward her. Quite inexplicably, she wanted nothing more than to return the smile. When she said nothing, he continued, "Do the trees talk to one another then? Do they move?"

Poppy stopped fighting back the smile even if others were watching. For whatever reason, Fili smiling at her was enough to not mind their stares. The grin broke across her face like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. "I guess you'll find out tonight when you sleep amongst them." It turned wry and a tad impish when she added, "Though, I promise orcs are one thing you won't have to worry about."

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A/N: Hello there! :) So, I posted that little chapter last night and woke up this morning to find 37 emails in my inbox! I just about spilled my cornflakes on myself. :D You all are truly awesome. I love hearing from you and seeing the review, follow, and favorite alerts. They really get my muse going. They just make me so happy! :D

Okay, now that I've used far too many exclamation points for my own good, if you guys hadn't figured it out already, I'm a bit of a Tolkien nerd. Should any of the not-Hobbit lore I write about confuse you or spark your interest, by all means send me a message or Wikipedia it. They have quite good articles. And, I do so enjoy talking Tolkien with people. So, now that I've spoken far too much, thanks for reading, review if you could, and I hope you enjoyed. See you Wednesday. :)


	7. Into the Old Forest

"Why should we stop, Gandalf? There is plenty of daylight to be had." Thorin looked up at the wizard with clear confusion. The sun had not yet gone down and he had no desire to waste any time. Why would they make camp at that moment?

"Because, I have it on good authority that we should stop here. Daylight there may be, but we do not want to continue on to have nowhere to stay once it is gone. Here is the safer place."

The way the wizard refused to meet his eye made the dwarf suspicious. Gandalf had disappeared into the trees a few hours prior and when he returned was when he'd begun having these irritating ideas. Unless he was quite mistaken, Thorin knew of only one person who would be in the forest. Eyes narrowing, he growled, "The hobbit told you, didn't she? What does her _forest wisdom_ have to account for stopping before the afternoon is half gone?"

Bushy eyebrows coming together in a frown, Gandalf replied tightly, "You have me on this venture to aid in things such as this. You never gave me _restrictions_ on whom I consulted." The way the old man said restrictions made Thorin wonder if his words had been wise, although he stuck to them. King he may be, but who that walked the earth gave a wizard 'restrictions'?

"We move on until nightfall like usual." Thorin nudged his pony on, the animal quickening its pace to a trot. Though the others had all heard the conversation and the wizard's suggestion to stop for the day right there, they followed their king in varying states of hesitance. A wizard was a wizard for a reason.

The company had proceeded another mile before Poppy reappeared. A worried frown was on her face when she silently broke out of the underbrush and walked beside her cousin's pony. Smiling at her, he asked, "How was your day in there?"

The worry abated just long enough for her to smile back. Lowering her voice to a more private level, she replied, "It was just like old times. Everything is different, yet the same. It's rather comforting, the way nature passes the time. How has yours been?" Blue eyes flicking to Fili and Kili right behind him, both giving her smiles in return, she grinned suddenly, "Have you had good company?"

"Oh, it's been _lovely_. I've been spending some quality time with Fili and Kili and their incredibly delicate senses of humor."

Poppy couldn't help but laugh at her cousin's troubles. Maybe he'd get used to how the dwarves thought the longer they were with them. "Ride with Bifur if they make you uncomfortable. Perhaps he'll take a 'shine' to you." Bilbo gave her a wide-eyed, strangled glance that made her laugh more. As the dwarves began to notice her presence, she patted Myrtle's neck. The pony promptly swung her head around for a scratch. Poppy did as the kind creature bid before jogging toward the front where Gandalf rode, her reason for coming back on her mind.

Looking down with a smile, the wizard gently grabbed her arm and lifted her onto his horse behind him. "Ah, good afternoon, Anna. I was just discussing our camping arrangements with Thorin."

Sparing a short, fearful glance for the dwarf king, Poppy looked imploringly at the back of Gandalf's head. Her voice was anxious when she pleaded quietly, "Gandalf, we have to stop now. We're already too close."

"I have tried, my dear, but my advice is being questioned."

Not noticing how the group had become silent except for the gentle noises of their ponies, a shaky breath was sucked in between her teeth, "We won't be able to pass them before night falls. The ponies won't take us. We'll be stuck."

"What's this you're talking about, lass?" Dwalin questioned. "We can pass anything we need to, day or night. We're well armed, lass."

The look she sent him clearly said they couldn't and they weren't. Each of them knew what fear looked like on her face, but this was different. This fear wasn't Thorin making her uncomfortable or telling her to go home. It wasn't her being forced to speak when she didn't want to. This was…more real. Even Thorin took note of it, though it was a begrudging note.

"We-We're almost to the Downs, aren't we?" Bilbo said, her worry beginning to mirror on his face, too, as he understood where they were headed. "We'll be stuck in the Downs."

Gandalf's voice was deceptively light with irritation when he replied, "That is precisely our current prospect, Bilbo. Downs, barrows, wights and all."

Bilbo pulled Myrtle to a quick stop, making the pony munch uncomfortably at her bit. She began fidgeting at the unusually high tension of her rider. Fili and Kili halted as well, looking from him to Poppy a few times. Catching the beseeching look in her blue eyes and realizing something was very wrong, Fili asked warily, a hand unconsciously going to the knife in his left gauntlet, "Bilbo, what's going on? What are you two so worried about?"

Voice shaky, the hobbit explained, "The Barrow-downs are coming up. We're told about them as children, of why it's dangerous to leave the Shire. Travelers get lost on the Downs and are never seen again. People hear the clinking of jewelry and never come out of the fog. You get lost in the fog and can't find your way out and the only thing to get your bearings with is the clinking. It takes you right to them, to the wights."

Barking out a laugh, Dwalin shrugged as he cracked his metal-clad knuckles, "Sounds like childhood tales to me, intended to scare little children to bed."

"So did I." Again, the men all turned to stare at Poppy, at the fear and knowledge in her voice. She turned to face Thorin, a pleading look on her face. He may not like her and she did not expect him to, but he needed to listen to her this time.

The king looked from girl to wizard a few times, anxiety on one face and irritation on the other. Sighing heavily, he turned his pony toward the trees. "Fine, we'll stop here. Where are we to camp, Gandalf? Over there?" He nodded behind him toward the open field, clearly not happy with the idea of sleeping out in the open.

"No, in there. Should we stop now, we will be at a safe distance from the Downs," the wizard replied. Smiling warmly, he helped Poppy down, "Lead on, little Anna. We trust you." Smiling, she nodded and took hold of his horse's bridle, slowly walking toward the trees.

The company did not follow at first, their mounts recognizing their hesitance. Dwarves and dark creepy forests did not go together when they could help it… At the tree line, noticing she was alone but for Gandalf, Poppy turned and clucked her tongue twice. Springs in their steps, the ponies surged forward and followed the girl without a second thought.

"Are you sure you know where you're going, lass?" Nori asked after twenty minutes of riding through the dense underbrush.

Green-hued light that filtered through the thick canopy made its way down to light their path, though none but Poppy seemed to know where it led. The ponies were only too happy to follow along in a herd behind her. It really wasn't that terribly dark in the forest. Appearances were worse than reality, though there was an aura to the place that disliked their presence. They all kept a subtle hand on their weapons, and Bilbo voluntarily rode closely with Balin and Kili.

"Indeed," Dori added with his ever-present pessimism, "how far are we going? We shan't get lost, will we?"

Huffing angrily, Bifur frowned in the brothers' direction, barking out harsh words in Khuzdul. Both of the dwarves quieted, no longer so quick to question their guide. Adding to the dwarf's sentiments, Gandalf called, "I know of only one who knows this forest better than our current guide, and he will not be joining us, I daresay. Have you met him, Anna?"

Smiling at the way her friends defended her, Poppy replied softly, "I know where we're going and we won't get lost. I promise. And no, Master Gandalf, I haven't. But I've heard he and his wife singing."

Trotting forward to ride beside Gandalf, whose mount was still being happily led by the woman, Fili came up on her other side. Nickering excitedly, Moira lipped at her shoulder. With her free hand and a smile, Poppy turned to rub the pony's neck and glanced back at her rider. The dwarf couldn't help but notice she seemed infinitely more comfortable in the dimmer light of the woods. Her steps were lighter and her face more open, as if this was where she belonged, where she knew. Whatever pain of the world that usually weighed her down held no sway in there.

The blonde dwarf rode behind her in silence for a few minutes, basking in the wide smile the hobbit was sporting. He felt a matching one begin to creep over his face. Though unsure why, he was beginning to take an extreme interest in making her happy. She was just so, well, _lovely_ when she had a smile and it felt as if they were far too seldom.

Feeling an odd tingle on his neck, Fili tensed. Someone was watching him…

Glancing to his side, he saw Gandalf looking at him with an incredibly amused expression. Blushing slightly, he snapped his head away from the wizard. To Fili's chagrin, Gandalf began to chuckle beneath his large hat, causing attention to be brought toward the front. Sighing silently, wondering if this was how Bilbo felt when they all laughed at him, the dwarf looked resolutely forward, staring at the scenery between Moira's ears.

"How is this at all funny, Gandalf?" Bilbo questioned, glancing about apprehensively as the trees thickened, as if that were possible.

Sending a crinkled smile from Poppy to Fili and back, the wizard lied lightly, "I just find it amusing, Bilbo, that of a company of thirteen dwarves, two hobbits, and a wizard, it is the shortest of us all that is the least afraid of a dark little forest. Wouldn't you say, Anna?"

Poppy made to turn around and nod, but she froze when Thorin cut in coldly, "She is _not_ a part of this company, Gandalf. She is merely…in front of it."

Fili watched as the weight came back and the openness closed.

Attempting to save her mood before it floundered completely in the harsh tide that was his uncle's temper, Fili quickly asked with genuine interest, "Where _are_ you taking us, Poppy?"

The smile was gone, but he thought he saw some life in her eyes when she glanced quickly back at him. "There's a clearing ahead with enough room for the ponies. Right next to it is a good place to stay for the night."

"And we won't have to worry about your wights here?"

"No, we won't hear them from here and they don't leave the fog of their barrows."

Smirking, he asked, "So are they the substitute for orcs you talked about?"

Confused, she turned to look at him, deftly avoiding a tree despite not looking. At the smile on his face, she remembered her earlier threat of sleeping amongst the trees. Giggling lightly, she shook her head, "No, I was referring to the squirrels, actually. They're not scared of anything and have the tendency to steal your trinkets in the night."

Bilbo's voice broke through their combined laughter excitedly a few moments later, "Poppy, is this where the elves stay?! Is this where they come through on their way?!" He had always been fascinated by elves.

Looking a bit sad that her moment with Fili had ended, though forgiving him because he was her cousin, Poppy looked back and answered, "Yes. They come through here and usually spend a night or two. But," she added, looking at Thorin's deeply frowning face, "they will not be here now. They travel to the Havens in autumn so we will be alone."

The king grunted in reply.

No one had time to ask anything further because the trees suddenly thinned out into a clearing that would easily make the ponies all comfortable for the night. Holding his horse's bridle as the wizard dismounted, Poppy only stayed long enough for the company to follow her to a small dell nearby. "This should work. Please, just don't take out your axes," she said simply before disappearing into the underbrush, her staff in hand.

Looking about in awe, Bilbo found himself quite speechless. The place was beautiful with many forest flowers in full bloom and a small, slow stream lazily babbling by. It was incredibly shallow, he noted. Though all trees in the Old Forest were tall, the ones surrounding them were obviously quite old, their thick branches reaching high toward the sky. There was a circular indent on the ground in the center of the hollow that was ringed with stones. Though overgrown with disuse, it struck him remarkably as a fire pit. Bofur and Bombur would come to the same conclusion when they started a fire not long after.

Watching as the wizard unsaddled his horse and carried his things over to a comfortable-looking place on the ground, Bilbo caught Gandalf's eye. Padding quickly over to him, the hobbit asked anxiously, "Is…Do you think this is where she…?"

Placing a calming hand on his shoulder, Gandalf replied comfortingly, "I daresay it is, Bilbo."

Letting out a deep breath, the hobbit dropped heavily to the ground, more than a bit overwhelmed. He sat there on the grass, hugging his pack limply in his arms. It was just so very odd to be there, to see it. She'd told him of it. She'd told him the whole story, but being there in the flesh was just…different.

Pulling out his pipe and reclining against the tree, planning to take advantage of the free hours before them, Gandalf stayed by Bilbo's side. The hobbit would work things out in his mind. He imagined it would be a bit of a shock. The dwarves paid their smallest member no mind, also leaving him to his thoughts.

Bombur quickly began working on dinner, citing that stew was better the longer it was cooked. And so, he and his companions settled down in varying states of actual relaxation. Bifur lay upon the ground and proceeded to take a nap, his glaive in his hand. Leaning against a tree, Thorin conversed quietly with Balin and Dwalin. Ori ran about writing notes on everything that he saw, muttering about needing to ask Poppy about things later. His two brothers sighed at his antics and cleaned their already spotless weapons. The merriest of the group refused to allow the forest to dampen their spirits; Bofur, Bombur, Fili and Kili sat together, laughing as they went about telling stories. Bofur was particularly known for his storytelling skills and their deep laughter soon echoed about the trees as the sun slowly shifted down toward the horizon they couldn't see.

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A/N: Why hello there all! :)

So, I know this isn't terribly much, but I'm still working on the second part and want to have it perfect. And, just so all of you know, I spent three hours last night writing _just_ Fili and Poppy. They shall converse a lot terribly soon. :) On that note, all your reviews and thoughts have been positively wonderful! They just make me so happy and give me great ideas and pushes to write. I'd like to specifically thank the Guests who reviewed since I can't send you a PM like everyone else. And so I'll now say, thank you so much for reading, review if you could, and I hope you enjoyed. I'll see you all Friday (unless I get lots done today in which case I'll put up the second half of this chapter sooner). :D


	8. Amongst the Trees

Appearing out of nowhere in the darkness, Poppy returned to the surprise of them all right after Bombur declared supper finished. Smiling lightly, her mood incredibly high, she stepped up to the large chef's pot, "Not quite, Master Bombur. I've brought you some things." Pulling out a small sack that was tied onto her pack, she produced a number of mushrooms and some fresh herbs.

Brightening with a smile so large she thought his round cheeks would cover his eyes, the dwarf took them all with an excited and practiced eye. "Thyme! Oh, this is wonderful! And the mushrooms are perfect!" He inspected his new wares for a moment before declaring loudly, "Dinner has been temporarily postponed."

Chuckling heartily, Bofur commented, "I never thought I'd hear those words come out of your mouth, brother." The others laughed at his expense, but still the huge dwarf beamed.

With absolutely no warning, Poppy found herself engulfed in an incredibly consuming and tight hug. It was over almost as soon as it began but she was inescapably dazed and oxygen-deprived when Bombur turned back to the pot and she wavered on her feet. Laughing at the look on her face, Fili reached out a steadying hand to her arm. Smiling down at him, she questioned so quietly that Kili and Bofur had trouble hearing her, "So, is it so bad in here?"

He shrugged, "No, but we have yet to see any of your squirrels, so I'll hold my opinion for the time being." Eyes sparkling, she laughed at that, a soft tinkling sound that was quite pleasant on the ears.

Leaning forward, extreme interest on his face, Kili took her attention for a moment. "So, how do you know about these wights…besides the stories?"

As she hadn't turned her eyes from him yet, Fili watched as a dark cloud settled on her features, some unpleasant memory coming through. Her grip on her staff tightened when she turned to face the darker-haired dwarf, a torn expression on her face, though she seemed to genuinely want to reply. Biting her lip, she took long enough to answer that she unintentionally got everyone's ear, "Because…Because they tried to eat me once. I stumbled into the fog a few steps and almost didn't make it out."

Ori was beside them immediately, notebook in hand, "Really? What did they look like?" Frowning, Fili smacked his curious companion's arm, nodding toward the strained look on her face. Realizing his mistake, the scholar snapped his book shut, "I-I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to…"

Forgiving him without any real thought, Poppy gave him a gentle smile with her small voice, "It's fine, Ori. It was tall and wispy, like it was made of the fog itself. The one real part of it was his eyes. They glowed like…like I'd imagine ice would look like if it glowed."

"If they're so bad that we couldn't take them, lass," Dwalin interrupted, "how did you survive?"

Looking at the large warrior dwarf out of the corner of her eye, she replied in the same fearful yet deferent tone she used with Thorin, "I turned tail and ran until I couldn't breathe anymore…"

Ending the conversation, Gandalf broke in to save her, "Master Dwalin, while no one doubts the courage and strength of you and your brethren, sometimes it is wiser to avoid the unnecessary fight, wouldn't you say?" Giving the lass a discerning glance, the fighter gave a nod to her that she returned with one of her own.

All was uncomfortably quiet until Bofur made a loud comment about when dinner would be ready. After the woman took a moment to gather her usually silent bearings, Fili gently touched the hand holding her staff. Nodding over at the still silent Bilbo, he commented, "You might want to talk to him. He hasn't spoken in the last three hours."

Facing falling, she let out a sigh as she looked to her cousin. He was still where he had sat beside Gandalf, his pack still clutched loosely in his arms. He appeared to be frozen for all intents and purposes. Giving Fili a tight lipped smile, she said gratefully, "Thank you."

Slipping her pack from her shoulders once she had walked over, she silently sat between Bilbo and Gandalf, her knee touching her cousin's. Doing her best to ignore how most pairs of eyes were now on them, she rested her head on Bilbo's shoulder. He jumped slightly at her touch, before letting out a deep breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding since they arrived. Letting his pack go, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, holding her to keep himself from falling apart.

Voice a mere whisper, she asked, "Are you all right? Fili said you haven't spoken in a while."

Eyes flickering to the blonde dwarf who was still watching them, concern on his features, Bilbo nodded, "Yes. It just hit me, is all. It's odd thinking that this is where…for so long… It is where, isn't it?"

Smiling, she nodded, "Yes it is. It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Now that he looked at it without the film of shock glazing over his sight, Bilbo did notice it was a very pretty glade. He imagined elves sitting there by a fire like theirs, singing or whatever it was elves did. He imagined animals running about in it. Now that he looked at it, it made perfect sense. It was like a scene out of the adventures they pretended to have as children. All it needed was those elves and it was something straight out of her childhood imagination.

"Are you sad?"

Poppy frowned, pulling her head up to look at her cousin. That was an ambiguous question if he'd ever asked her one. "About what exactly?"

"That you left it."

Reaching her hand out and squeezing his, she shook her head, curls bobbing about her shoulders, "No. Never about coming back." She looked up to see Gandalf smiling down at the two of them. He gave her a slight nod, as if to say she had done well, to say he understood. Though she didn't necessarily need the encouraging smile, she appreciated it more than she had expected. Subtly, he squeezed her shoulder before going back to his pipe and smoke rings.

Bombur called that dinner was ready soon after. Hesitantly, looking warily at Thorin, Poppy rose with Bilbo when he got up to get his helping. Noticing her worry, Bifur came up behind her, huffing with an encouraging nod toward the line that had formed. Stepping silently forward, as if somehow that would help her remain unnoticed in the firelight, she walked with her new friend.

For a few wonderful moments, she thought she'd gotten away with it. The dwarves chattered on enthusiastically, talking about any number of things and none seemed to pay her any mind, or at least comment on her being there. That idea was brought to a swift halt when Thorin appeared beside her, a frown on his face and hardness in his voice.

"Go home, girl. We thank you for your help today, truly, but you don't belong here. Go now."

Managing the same strong tone she'd given him the night before, she repeated softly, "No, thank you, sir." Only breaking eye contact at the last moment, she turned from the line and padded hastily toward the ponies' clearing, grabbing her pack and staff as she went. As soon as she had disappeared into the darkness the sound of the excited, unanimous whickering of fifteen ponies and a horse reached their ears.

Groaning, Thorin watched her leave. She really did seem like a sweet girl, if incredibly, terribly foolish. Why did she have to insist on following them on this journey? Why did she insist on putting herself in harm's way? Why did she have to be stubborn? He was trying to protect her in the long run.

Taking his bowl of food and walking through the now silent camp, he sat down against a tree to brood darkly. The way she stared at him when he told her to go rather reminded him of how his sister Dis had looked at him when he scolded her when they were children. She felt bad, a bit scared even, but the idea of backing down or—Mahal forbid—apologizing was out of the question. Well, persistence had always been the only solution to Dis, so it would have to work here, too.

Dealing with a woman who wouldn't leave had not been a problem he'd anticipated upon that journey. The last thing he needed to confront on top of a dragon, hundreds of miles of possible danger, and likely some orcs and elves at some point, was an angry woman…_especially_ if she was like Dis. Watching as Bifur followed her with some dinner and his nephews' eyes followed Bifur, he hoped that between the three of them and their burglar she could be convinced to go back.

Taking the second bowl that Bombur offered, Bifur made his into the dark toward the clearing, a sad look upon his face. Although, not even he was sure whether that sadness was for Poppy or his king. Perhaps it was both. He found her in the dim light laying on her stomach on the standing Moira, her head resting amongst the pony's mane as it grazed lazily on the grass. Ori's pony, Bella, had her head rested on the hobbit's back, getting a neck scratch for her trouble.

With a small smile at how the animals flocked to her, he walked up and handed her the supper. Taking it with a small smile, she somehow managed to begin eating it without moving or upsetting either pony. Leaning back against a nearby tree, he started in on his own dinner. They ate in silence, the sounds of the forest, the ponies, and their friends filling up the darkness. After she had finished, she turned her head to look over at the dwarf. In her small voice, she asked, "Do you think he'll tell me to go home every day?"

Not needing time to think, he nodded and grunted to the affirmative. Though he knew she couldn't understand, he said aloud in Khuzdul with a smirk, "_Stubborn like you_."

She sighed at the reply she had expected, not noticing the smile on the old warrior's face. Though she didn't fear solitude, it would be far easier were he to just accept her, to just let her in. She wasn't leaving. As she told Kili and Fili, she would wait him out. "Well, at least no one can say that he and I don't talk, then."

Huffing with laughter, Bifur nodded, putting his bowl aside. As he pulled his cloak about him, readying himself to sleep until he was woken for watch, he heard her begin humming from her perch. The moon had risen to shine through the leaves, the darkness had deepened and the night sounds of the forest had settled in when the humming turned into soft singing. Though he was no scholar like Ori, Bifur was positive the words were in Elvish, their rhyming lilt easily discernible from Westron and Khuzdul. No matter the language, she had a nice voice he noted as he allowed himself to fall asleep to her words:

_Fanuilos heryn aglar!  
Rîn athar annún-aearath!  
Calad ammen i reniar  
Mi'aladhremmin ennorath!_

As she drifted off herself and the lines she'd heard sung many a time trailed into nothing, she did not notice the silence that had fallen over her comrades by the fire. Sleep had just claimed her, Bella snoring softly on her back, when Fili and Kili, followed closely by Bilbo, crept into the clearing.

None could help the smile that appeared on his face at the sight, though they soon left, leaving her in peace.

Fili remained the longest, watching as her back rose and fell as she breathed, the bits of moonlight shining down. He supposed he really shouldn't be watching her like that, but the girl before him quite suddenly hit him as a scene from one of Bofur's tales. She was like one of the heroines that made the hero seem greater merely by loving her. Their mother had always emphasized those strong women when she told them stories. She would be proud; something had stuck in his mind, apparently. He was likely being ridiculous, but it seemed the forest night was deciding to do odd things to his brain…

As Bella snorted and Poppy twitched in her sleep, a smile broke over his face again. He might only be able to call her lovely, lest he risk the wrath of Bilbo Baggins, but as their journey continued, his personal quest would be to make her smile more.

Unable to tear himself away quite yet, pipe still in his mouth, Fili heard his brother ask, "Gandalf, what was she singing?"

Clearly just as curious as his companion, Bilbo added, "It sounded like Elvish to me, but why would Poppy know Elvish?"

The wizard's voice was low and evasive when he replied, "It was Sindarin. If I'm not mistaken that is the Elves' Lament. They sing it on their way to the Havens when they leave these shores for the Undying Lands. As to why little Anna knows it," he smiled around his pipe, "you'll have to ask her."

Smiling at the scene before him one last time, Fili turned and walked back to the circle of their camp. Putting out his pipe and tossing his bedroll between Kili and Bilbo's, he pulled his blanket over him and tried to get some sleep before he was woken for last watch. As Kili rolled and tossed and turned on one side and Bilbo mirrored him on the other, the blonde dwarf groaned. Reaching an arm out to either side, he hit them both. "Go to sleep, Kili. Bilbo, you can pester Poppy tomorrow."

His arm stinging, Bilbo did not miss the irony that it was Fili telling him to stop worrying and defending his cousin's privacy. Chuckling slightly, he shook his head and situated himself beneath his blanket, too. Poppy had told him her story long ago when she had returned. He needed to calm down.

* * *

A/N: So, as indicated, here is the second part! School kind of punched me in the face today, but some sleep deprivation never hurt anyone. Therefore, I'll have more up tomorrow and then when the glorious, glorious weekend arrives I can ignore my fiance for the sake of Fili, because he loves me and understands. :)

So, lots of you seem to be getting anxious about Poppy and Fili and Poppy's back story. Don't worry, we're getting there. So, thanks so much for reading, leave a review for me if you could, and I hope you enjoyed. See you tomorrow. :)


	9. Conversations in the Night

Jolting awake as she suddenly found herself in motion, Poppy's eyes snapped open. Squeaking, she sat bolt up to realize that Moira had awoken and was munching away on a very early breakfast. At some point during the night Bella had moved, placing her head at a more comfortable angle. Shivering at the lack of warmth, Poppy slipped down from her perch, stretching her cramping legs. Perhaps sleeping atop a pony had not been the most prudent idea. Smiling at her own foolishness, she glanced upward to try and judge the time. The moon had shifted, causing its beams to create longer shadows, and the sky was a deep purple. Dawn was an hour or so off. Yawning mightily at how early it was even for her, she ran a hand through her messy curls and walked toward the fire, hoping to take a moment to warm up with no one else awake.

Everyone was asleep, most snoring blissfully away with no indication of stopping, except for Fili. He sat on the edge of camp, a fierce war hammer at his side, two swords and a whetstone in his lap. He didn't notice her even as she approached closer, standing near where Gandalf had decided to sleep sitting up. Even though her toes and fingers were still cold at not sleeping with a blanket, she suddenly felt her stomach warm up considerably.

Poppy was a solitary being; at least she had become one. She got nervous when around too many or when forced to interact one-on-one with someone she didn't necessarily know. That was how she was. She was quiet and nervous and shy. Realizing that all of those usual faults hadn't reared their heads when the idea of keeping Fili company shot from her heart up to her mind, she had to smile.

Ignoring the way the dew on the grass tickled her toes, she silently stepped over his companions and sat beside him. Jumping at her appearance, his hands immediately went to the two hilts and his whole body tensed. "_Mahalu-me turg_!" The phrase in Khuzdul that she decided was not exactly how one would speak in front of one's mother came out of his mouth when he realized his mistake. His hands immediately dropped both swords.

Grimacing slightly as she made herself comfortable, she offered, "Sorry."

Heart still beating rapidly, he questioned in a breathless whisper, "How do you do _that_?! You're like a blooming ghost."

"Perhaps dwarves are just too loud." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, a shy almost embarrassed smile following right after.

Almost not catching the teasing in her small voice, he stared at her for a moment in surprise before grinning back, "Fair enough. But I still don't think you're normal."

"I am quiet," she conceded, giving him a sideways glance when he snorted. "Fine, I'm _very_ quiet." Smiling faintly, she added, "Sneaking up on Bilbo is rather fun. He drops his book and spills his tea."

Snorting again as he glanced at the sleeping hobbit, he grinned before returning to sharpening his weapons. "You're cousins, right?"

She nodded, for whatever reason feeling incredibly comfortable at that moment in time with that warm little knot in her stomach. "Our mothers were sisters. We've been best friends since we were little. We did everything together." Looking to the sleeping body beside Bilbo, she continued, "A bit like you and Kili, I think."

"I've never known a time Kili wasn't my best friend. I'm only five years older so I can't remember life without him." From someone else, the pure love and devotion in his voice would have surprised her, but she, like any other sane person walking that earth, could see the bond between the brothers.

Looking up, he noticed she had turned her blue-eyed gaze from his brother back to him with no indication of looking back. A little piece of his stomach that he hadn't noticed felt sick suddenly felt much better. "If you don't mind me asking, how old are you and Bilbo? He feels older than us, but you don't live as long, right?"

"Bilbo is 51. The oldest hobbit to live, my great-great-great," she trailed off, trying to remember how exactly Bullroarer Took was related to her. Giving up, she shrugged, "My something was 130 when he died. We come of age at 33 and he's not far past. So Bilbo isn't old yet… He just worries like a ninety-year-old woman."

Running the stone down the length of the blade, Fili chuckled, "With that in mind, Kili is twenty-six years older than him. Who would've thought?"

He grinned at her and she felt her face warm up as one spread across her features, too. "So, that makes you, what, 82?"

"Aye. Though, I'm going to go out on a limb and say I'm far spryer than your average 82-year-old hobbit."

Thinking of Bilbo's terrible and rather round cousin Lobelia who was about that age, she giggled, "That limb isn't so dangerous a place to sit. Also," she smiled brightly up at him, "I know you and Kili aren't old."

They sat in companionable silence as a few of the earliest rising birds began to make their presence known. Fili continued cleaning his swords and she lay back on the ground, looking up to see the few remaining visible stars through the leaves. Looking over at the movement, he smiled. She just seemed comfortable, like the hesitant Poppy didn't even exist. It made him inexplicably happy that being with him made her so. Noticing his gaze, she looked ready to speak, but he beat her to it. "So did you sleep well? I didn't realize that Moira doubled as a bed."

Giggling despite the embarrassed flush on her cheeks, she shrugged, "Pony is incredibly comfortable. They also serve as wonderful blankets." Her slight humiliation fled promptly at how he laughed, a deep, genuine sound.

"I'll bear that in mind when I'm sick and tired of riding her in a few weeks."

Sighing, she looked up at him out of the corner of her eye. "Well, just think of me and my walking when you start to get cranky."

Feeling it best not to go further on that avenue of conversation—Fili had no desire to dislike his uncle for her sake or vice versa—he glanced down at her feet. Frowning, he asked with sincere curiosity, "How do you and Bilbo walk like you do? Do hobbits never wear shoes?"

"No. I haven't the faintest idea what good them being abnormally large does, but our feet are tough. Journeys aren't our cup of tea, but we walk quite a bit. Ponies' affinity for me is rare, so we stay on the ground."

Thinking of the depths of the mountains and the harshness of winters he'd lived through in Ered Luin, Fili wondered, "Don't they ever get cold?"

"Oh yes…" she replied earnestly. "The Shire is warm for the most part, but once you leave it and winter comes, they get cold. Most just never leave, so never have to worry."

Poppy suddenly became quite self-conscious. There she was, lying there, and talking with Fili about _feet_… For the first time in her life, she felt incredibly unattractive and actually _minded_. Dwarf women probably had proportional, not terribly hairy feet and hair that didn't knot into itself instead of curl. Of course, it was said they also had beards, but… Trying to disregard the stupid train of thought, she turned her attention back to the blonde and boot-clad dwarf beside her when he spoke.

"We never really get cold, but then we're never really hot, either."

It took a moment for the comment to soak in, but as soon as it did, she remembered a tidbit from long ago. Brightening with an exuberance that made him smile, she asked hurriedly, "Do you really not need anything in the forges? Does the fire really not hurt?"

"No, not really. We'll singe a beard maybe—Kili did that once—but we aren't harmed. We can survive dragon-fire, you know."

"That seems oddly fortuitous," she said with a placid smile, not wanting to go into the tragedy of Erebor if he didn't want to. She wasn't sure how exactly Fili felt about Smaug and the loss of his home. Thorin understandably would have struck her dead with his very gaze at that comment, but Fili just nodded. "So how exactly did Kili go about burning off his beard?"

Chuckling so loudly he had to check himself lest he wake anyone up, the elder brother explained, "All of us learn the basics of how to smith when we're around age thirty. That's when we come of age. We get to be grown-ups longer," he added playfully, smiling wider at her subsequent melodramatic sigh. "Uncle had been teaching me; he's a skilled smith. Kili had been upset for years because he didn't get to learn with me. He just had to watch. So, when he turned thirty and it was his turn, he decided he knew everything already. He'd just gotten his beard grown into something more than fuzz, too. Within an hour of firing up the forge for the first time, he'd gotten it too hot, made a nice little fireball and caught his chin on fire."

Poppy had to put a hand over her mouth to keep her laughter quiet enough.

Chuckling to himself at the memory and how her face had gone red with held in laughter, he concluded, "Uncle about died laughing. Kili's never regrown one since, nor has he tried. He's an archer, though, so it makes more sense."

Without taking her eyes from the hazel ones above her, she commented, "I can't really picture him with a beard."

"Neither can any of us anymore and we're dwarves."

She returned his smile for a few moments. Turning her eyes up toward the sky, a decided element of sadness in her voice, she said quietly, "We had a dwarf-forged sword once. I never knew why, but it hung above our mantle. Mother loved that thing. She was so proud of it. Bilbo and I used to take it and carry it when we pretend adventured. It had to be a really good adventure, though, because we would get into _so_ much trouble when it was discovered missing."

Glancing up at him and the look he was giving her—one filled with interest, curiosity, and a vein of concern—she smiled soothingly, "Bilbo and I were quite rebellious, you see. Though, I guess it was my fault more than his. I was an ornery child. But we killed many a goblin."

"Kili and I killed many an orc and I can guarantee we were far ornerier. Our orneriness is practically _legend_. " Poppy gave him a fleeting smile before gazing upward again, melancholy hanging about her features. For the life of him, Fili couldn't figure out why, though he supposed she was allowed her secrets. Sliding his swords back into his scabbard, he pulled the knives from his gauntlets before asking lightly, "If you had a sword, why did you bring a staff?"

Laughing, she put her small arms straight up for him to see, "I could barely lift the thing, let alone swing it." As he smiled at that and she let her arms cross across her chest, as if holding herself together, she added sadly, "And…I don't know where the sword is anymore. I went home once and it was gone. I didn't have the heart to ask where."

"Well, I know that Bombur is quite happy you brought a staff. Better to be felled by it than a sharpened sword…"

As he had intended, she grinned at that as she blushed bright crimson. "I really didn't mean to! When he broke into my room I just reacted. I was asleep and all of a sudden he was there! Actually hurting him was pure luck."

"Aye," he smiled, "lucky enough to hit the _one_ soft spot we've got on our heads."

"I said I was sorry!" She moaned with embarrassment so woefully, covering her face with her hands that he started laughing again. Seeing him shaking with laughter, she grinned and smacked his arm. "Oh hush, it's not funny!"

"A hobbit that's not more than three and a half feet tall being sorry about felling a dwarf a foot taller and probably four times her weight is the very definition of funny."

Widening her eyes and taking on a look of deepest sadness, she protested crestfallenly, "You think he's _only_ four times bigger?"

If this spirited creature was what Poppy was like without her hesitance, he could more than deal with it. Narrowing his eyes with mock seriousness that was becoming incredibly hard to keep up without laughing, he replied with an eyebrow raised, "I plead the racial differences of humor."

"Sure. _Now_ you decided to be scholarly."

His glare deepened, reminding her some of his uncle though she wasn't the slightest bit scared, and she laughed. "Also, just so you know, a lesser dwarf would have been extremely offended by that."

She kept grinning up at him. "It's good for me you're not a lesser dwarf then, isn't it."

Clearing his throat nonchalantly as she continued to giggle, he queried, "So, where did you learn to sing, Poppy."

She abruptly choked on her own incoming breath.

Coughing harshly, attempting to regain the ability to breathe, she looked up at him with wide eyes, "I was singing?"

Grabbing her arm and pulling her up in attempt to get her to stop coughing, he felt slightly guilty for surprising her so. He hadn't expected her to react that strongly. Without removing his hand, he repeated, "Aye. We all heard you earlier. Gandalf said the song was Elvish. It was amazing. I don't think any of us moved an inch the whole time." He didn't mention how he, Kili, and Bilbo had watched her. "Bilbo was beside himself, wanting to know where you'd learned it."

"You _all_ heard?" she breathed, her face sheer white instead of an embarrassed red.

"Aye. What's wrong with that?" Smiling, he added, "You've got a nice voice, Poppy."

Red immediately colored her cheeks, that little warmth in her stomach igniting a bit more. Caught between horrified and confused, she latched onto it. Bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, she allowed a small smile of thanks in his direction, "Thank you. I…I've just never sung that with anyone around. I didn't realize I was… I-I feel kind of naked now… Something tells me your uncle likes me even less, if that were possible."

Sighing, wishing that the situation were different on that front, he squeezed her shoulder, "He comes off as harsh, but he rarely does anything without a reason. He probably just doesn't want you to get hurt. I mean, he doesn't think Bilbo will be able to make it, let alone a girl."

"Even rabbits fight back when they have no choice, but—"

Cutting her off, Fili commented, "Aye, and the rest of the time they run. That's what he's worried about."

Laying her cheek on her knees to look up at him, she smiled, "I was going to say that I stopped being a rabbit a long time ago."

Shuffling with slight discomfort, he refused to look at her for a few moments, uncomfortable with the tightrope he was already beginning to walk between her and his uncle. Dwarves were an unfailingly loyal race. Loyalty meant everything to him and his kin. Having to pick one or the other was not something he wanted to do, especially since he knew he'd pick Thorin.

Softly pushing his arm, she got him to look back at her. Her blue eyes were warm and slowly he mirrored the smirk on her face. Seeming to completely understand his dilemma, her expression clearly said she wasn't looking for him to take sides.

Retaking his knives in his hands, he finished cleaning them. He wondered if the oddly content feeling he had in the silence was how Bifur felt whenever they just sat in silence. Though nothing was better than joking around with Kili, sitting in the silence with Poppy in the dark had its merits…

Setting his work aside when his weapons were spotless, he turned to fully face her, "What does it mean then, the song? Gandalf said it was a lament."

Frowning for a moment, considering that, Poppy finally nodded, "Yes, it is. It's different, though. They're sad to be leaving but excited at the same time. From the time they're born, they have two homes in their hearts. The one here that they live in and the one across the sea. So, they're sad but…It-It's difficult to without understanding the words."

Glancing back behind them, double and then triple checking that no one was awake but them, she offered in a voice so tiny she barely heard it, "I can sing it in Westron if you want."

Poppy refused to look at him at first, incredibly embarrassed, disbelieving that she'd just offered such a thing. Seeming to understand her troubles, or at least the bright blush on her face, Fili smiled kindly, "I'd like that."

Though he'd said his kin never got hot, he felt as if he'd just walked up and stood in a white hot forge when her brightly smiling face turned to him. She didn't say a word or look away for a moment before she began to softly sing the melancholy melody.

_Snow-white! Snow-white! O Lady clear!  
O Queen beyond the Western Seas!  
O Light to us that wander there  
Amid the world of woven trees!_

_Gilthoniel! O Elbereth!  
Clear are thy eyes and bright is breath.  
Snow-white! Snow-white! We sing to thee  
In a far land beyond the Sea!_

_O Stars that shine in the Sunless Year  
With shining hand by thee were sown.  
In windy fields now bright and clear  
We see your silver blossom blown!_

_O Elbereth Gilthoniel!  
We still remember, we who dwell  
In this far land beneath the trees,  
Thy starlight on the Western Seas._

Aside from a few birds that had taken it upon themselves to add a morning chorus to her voice, there was absolute silence once she'd finished. Poppy felt her face go red as Fili continued to stare at her, his mouth slightly open, but she couldn't bring herself to look away.

She had to admit, having him stare at her was a far from unpleasant experience, no matter how shy she normally was. Though their silence was not uncomfortable, Poppy was the one to finally break it, looking down as she stretched her toes. "Why do you all hate the elves so much?"

Gathering his bearings, Fili sighed. He'd always been a fairly moderate soul, disliking disliking people in general. Kili had inherited Thorin's temper, not him, which Thorin had occasionally joked was a good thing. Elves, however, were the exception. It was going to take a lot for him to forgive them for what they'd done to his people. Even then they raised his ire, "You were teaching Ori about our history earlier. I thought you'd know."

"Gandalf told me those stories when I was ten or so. He didn't confuse a child with hatreds and prejudices she was too innocent of the world to understand."

Smirking slightly as his anger calmed, he nodded, "Bofur's like that too. The kids all love him because he manages to keep things simple but still trick them into learning something."

Her smile ghosted across her face. "He and Gandalf should make a day of it if we ever get to rest." Voice lowering again, she continued, "It's just strange to me, is all, your people's hating them so. They…" she trailed off, unsure whether or not to finish that thought.

As she fought with herself, Fili distracted her with an answer, "Uncle hates them so much because when Smaug came, when Erebor was taken from us, the elves came too. They came but they did nothing. Thranduil didn't even help our refugees."

A deep, saddened sigh escaped her. "I know have no room to talk and it changes nothing," she commented quietly, glancing back at the dwarf king who disliked her so, "but they aren't all like that."

"And how do you know that? Have you met one?"

Fili's voice was harsh and his movements so jerky they made even his braids swing angrily, but Poppy knew his anger wasn't directed at her. Voice shaking, almost not believing what she was doing, she replied, "Yes, I have. They taught me to sing, to answer Bilbo's question."

He could feel his neck creak and protest at the speed with which he turned his head to look at her. Sighing heavily, she waited, as if morbidly prepared for him to ransack her with questions and demands to explain why she knew the forest and elves and wights and why she wasn't just normal. She was prepared for him to hate her for whatever reason.

Fili merely looked at her, catching her scared blue eyes with his. After a while in which neither said anything, he just said the first thing that popped into his head. Afterwards, he wouldn't even remember what it was. Not wanting to be the reason for that fear in her eyes, he just started talking, rambling on wherever his mouth took him in a way most unlike him with the birds and Bombur's snoring for answers.

Quite suddenly, there was a snap of a twig amongst the trees, incredibly near to them. Abruptly quieting, Fili had both his swords in his hands within a moment, telling himself he was ready for anything. However, a gentle hand on his arm made him jump. Grasping his sleeve, Poppy explained in a whisper, "It's just deer. There's a herd that lives near here. They come around when I sing."

"Oh…" was all he said before silence resumed. Hazel eyes glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, but he didn't speak.

With a sudden wave of some swelling emotion she couldn't quite name, Poppy realized she had underestimated the dwarf before her. He wasn't going to ask, not if she didn't want him to, even with many of her oddities spread before him. For whatever reason, she wanted nothing more than to explain it to him because of that. Maybe he'd hate her and shun her and never look at her with a shred of anything but dislike again, but she'd tell him anyway.

It taking a few tries to get any sound out, she asked, "Fili, did you and Kili ever run away as children?"

"Aye, a few times. We never made it very far."

"I did. I ran away four times and the fourth time, I made it here." Tears gathering at the corners of those blue eyes, she breathed, "I lived here in this dell for almost fifteen years. That's what was wrong with Bilbo. I disappeared off the face of the earth for almost two decades without him and this is where I was. He's so worked up with protecting me, he didn't know how to react. This place, this grass, these trees, those birds, and those deer, it was all…home."

Tilting his head slightly to make it parallel with hers, he asked softly, "Why?"

It was then that she finally looked away from him and turned her eyes to the infant dawn in the east, refusing to answer.

Watching as pain crept into her eyes as she turned away, some things suddenly made an immense amount of sense to Fili. Whatever happened to her had happened and she'd come there and she'd made herself belong. That little glade, with all its animals and plants, had loved her. Going back away from that safety to be surrounded by an entire race of people who didn't seem to understand would make him hesitant about life, too. And after fifteen years, she and Bilbo were still close because they were like he and Kili. They needed one another, no matter the time, the space, or the history. She had come along because Bilbo was home, not their little hobbit hole with its round green door and terribly small cups.

He got the feeling she was too proud or too scared to bother telling anyone but Bilbo because they wouldn't understand anyway…except for him. The very thought made him happy. Two days it may have been but she already trusted him for whatever reason.

Leaning over and bumping her shoulder with a grin, he commented airily, "Well, you certainly could have picked worse places…"

He watched as her body slowly began to heave with laughter and tears, though he didn't comment on those. If there were two things he knew about women, it was do not comment on their weight—which he'd already failed at, apparently—and only acknowledge they're crying if they do first. Something told him he shouldn't be worried, though, as she began hiccupping with laughter.

Abruptly standing as she wiped her eyes with her sleeve, she declared, "Come with me."

She held out a hand to him and at the first sign of movement from his, she grabbed it and hauled him upright. Without another word, her grip tightened and she hauled him forward into the trees, grinning with abandon.

* * *

A/N: Well hello there! So...this is a bit of a behemoth. We all know a bit more about Poppy now. Yay! Also, they're not head over heels in love with one another, but we've got a continent to cross and plenty of time. I don't know about all of you, but I dislike rushing things. Either way, the romance is beginning... :) So, thanks so much for reading, leave a review if you could, and I hope you enjoyed. See you on Sunday. :D


	10. Back to the Road

"Poppy, where are we going?!" Fili asked as he nearly tripped over a fallen log.

"To answer your question." Sending a bright smile back at him in the dawn light, she urged, "Come on!" Though he didn't have much choice with the hold she had on his hand—though he definitely wasn't complaining—he hurried his pace to match hers.

They had been running for nearly ten minutes and the foliage had begun to thin ever so slightly, when she came to a halt before an enormous tree. Its branches stretched high and Fili could easily see sunlight reflecting off the topmost. Finally releasing his hand, leaving an uncomfortably cool feeling she disliked, Poppy asked, "Can you climb?"

His narrowed eyes and cocked eyebrow answered her easily enough. Chuckling, she stepped up to the tree's lowest branches and began pulling herself up and toward the sky. Deciding not to question her, Fili followed.

Ten minutes of climbing later, Poppy held out a hand to help Fili up to the branch she currently sat on. Before them, the sun beamed down with its first light of the day upon the land for miles, lighting up the fog-ridden Downs, the fields, the forest, the earth as far as the eye could see.

It was no mountain, but the view took the dwarf's breath away, "Wow…"

Smiling happily, Poppy commented, "This is why I lived here."

Hazel eyes narrowing without looking over at her, he accused playfully, "That's not quite what I meant. Poppy, what made you _move_ here?"

Even she was surprised by the lack of weighty sadness in her voice when she replied with a smile at him, "Fili…ask me that some other night."

Grinning back as he swung his feet in the open air, he asked in a voice dripping with teasing, "Does that mean I get to wake you up every time I'm on watch, Poppy?" His laughter had begun before her glare had time to fully materialize and he barely felt her playful push to his arm.

* * *

Only Gandalf was awake by the time the pair returned, though he'd been awake for some time. He'd heard his little Anna sing for Fili and then reveal that she had lived in that very forest. The dwarf prince had taken it better than he'd expected. Stretching his old limbs when they strode back into camp in content, smiling silence, Gandalf nodded to them both. The girl gave him a smile incredibly reminiscent of those she'd given him as a small child.

Wary glance in the wizard's direction, Fili retook his place on the edge of camp and strapped on his double-sword scabbard. Both men watched as she quietly crept over to where Bilbo and Kili still slept, Kili's hand having flung out to hit the hobbit's face at some point. Kneeling silently down, she began gently rummaging through the young dwarf's pockets, looking for something in particular. Grinning in triumph, she pulled out his pipe a moment later. Chuckling heartily, Gandalf took out his own pipe for a morning smoke. That was the Anna he remembered.

At the torn look on Fili's face, she made her way back over and whispered, "You both scared Bilbo for no reason. I made you climb a tree. Kili will just have to deal with the _squirrels_ stealing his pipe for a few hours."

Snorting in laughter, Fili grinned, "I definitely got the better end of that punishment."

Tucking the possession into her pocket, Poppy returned the expression before leaving for the clearing, "Tell him where it is whenever you want. You don't have to keep it from him."

When she had gone and there were some excited whickers that reached their ears, Gandalf asked nonchalantly, "Did your turn at watch prove interesting, Master Fili?"

Fili turned his Thorin-reminiscent glare upon the wizard, though the old man just continued smiling as he puffed away. Sighing with irritation, the dwarf plopped onto the ground and began packing his things. Causing him pause, Fili looked up when Gandalf added weightily, "_That_ is how Anna used to be. …And Fili, her trust is no longer given easily, nor is it an empty gift."

His smoke rings continuing to rise, the wizard appeared disinclined to say anything else. Fili rather felt like he'd just been given warning by a girl's father that he wasn't even courting. Looking once more at the wizard but gleaning nothing from his face, Fili shook his head with a confused sigh.

Poppy was Poppy: shy, sad, confusing, complex, really very _lovely_ despite not having a beard Poppy. With a knowledge as deep and profound as the love he had for his brother, Fili knew that he counted her as a friend and she returned the feeling. He'd focus on the simplicity of that.

Tearing him from his annoyingly deep thoughts for so early in the morning, Kili blinked himself awake beside him. Yawning, he sat up and commented while rubbing his face, "It's so strange. I swear I had a dream that Poppy was standing above me."

Fili turned his amused snort into a strong cough.

"Oi, don't tell Bilbo that, lad," Bofur offered sleepily from nearby.

"Don't tell Bilbo what?" The hobbit in question had sat straight up, looking about in confusion. "_Don't tell Bilbo what_?!" Fili remained decidedly silent and hid his grin as the company awoke and proceeded to eat breakfast. When Bifur walked into camp and sat down to eat, none failed to notice he took a second biscuit and tucked it into his pocket.

When they had gathered their things, the ponies were again all saddled and ready to go. Feet swinging in the open air and staff strapped to her back, Poppy was perched upon a low branch waiting for them. Once they had all mounted, situating themselves in various states of comfort, she hopped down.

While the day before she had led Gandalf's horse, that time she went hesitantly up to Thorin's chestnut-colored pony. Whickering with delight, the male steed nudged her shoulder in an attempt to get her to give him a scratch. While the pony was excited by her proximity, his rider seemed distinctly pained.

"Can I do something for you, girl?"

She visibly flinched at his tone, though did not back down. Her small voice sounded more like a ten-year-old's than her own when she replied, "I was going to take you out first. You're the king."

Glaring down at her, Thorin ground out, "If this is an attempt to win me over, girl, it will not work."

He thought he saw the slightest bit of a smirk in her eyes when she replied lightly but more strongly into the silence, "You're not married, are you?"

When his eyes narrowed to the point where she thought she might be struck down on the spot, Balin cut in in his gently moderate way, "He is not, lass. Although I'm sure he's interested in his own diplomaticway to know why you ask."

"Children win people over, master dwarf; women wait them out."

The clear sound of Gandalf chuckling reverberated through the glade as she scratched the pony once more and started walking with two clucks of her tongue, trusting he and his fellow steeds to follow her. All of which did without even waiting for their riders to allow them.

Myrtle being in a particularly active frame of mind that morning, Bilbo soon found himself ducking tree branches beside his cousin. Despite the little interlude she'd just had with Thorin, she seemed in an incredibly light humor. Wondering briefly if it had something to do with what the dwarves wouldn't tell him, he decided to let it go and be happy with the fact that he could actually tell she was happy.

"So, how far do you think we'll get today?" he asked her after the normal amount of chatter had begun.

Shrugging, doing her level best to ignore the dark, brooding presence of Thorin at her left shoulder, she replied, "I'm not sure. I've never gone past the Downs. Though, we'll have passed them by this afternoon. Yes, good morning, Myrtle." She laughed as the pony nudged her hand, not unlike a cat wanting to be petted.

"Do you suppose Hildifons did this?"

Glancing back at her cousin, she smiled, "I daresay we're the first hobbits to do anything quite like this, Bilbo."

Sighing, his voice caught between regret and amusement, Baggins and Took, he added, "We'll never be respectable again."

Quite unexpectedly, a peal of laughter tore from her mouth, echoing about them and making the riding hobbit jump. "Bilbo, I was never respectable to begin with." Despite the smile she sent back at him, they remained as silent as Thorin until the trees thinned and the bright morning light beat down upon the company.

While the ponies had been in bright spirits ever since setting off, their riders only caught up when the sound of hooves on hardened dirt instead of grass met their ears. Poppy soon was passed on either side by two columns of ponies, all of them hurrying to catch up to Thorin who had struck forward with a brisk trot. One held back to walk with her and she soon found a biscuit being held out to her.

Taking it with a smile, she was greeted for the morning with a huff from Bifur. Readjusting her pack, she picked up her own walking pace and began the silent, comfortable journey of the day with Bifur.

* * *

A/N: Hello again. So, here's the next bit. Thank you guys bunches for the reviews. Also, thanks to all you lurkers who have decided to follow this. It's just great to know people are reading. So, thanks for reading, please review if you could, and I hope you enjoyed. I'll see you all Tuesday. :)


	11. Lovely

As the day passed, the sun moved, and the Old Forest and Barrow-Downs slowly fell behind them, Poppy disappeared as was becoming routine. She was finding it slightly harder to keep up now that the ponies were on flat, easy ground, but she'd manage. Some exercise never hurt a soul.

She'd known it was going to be a long trek to the Lonely Mountain when she set off running behind Bilbo. From as much fuss as they were making, her two feet apparently hadn't. Huffing a sigh down at them, she had to smile at her feet. They'd gone softer than she'd realized. They'd toughen up again.

Pushing her hair back from her face, she made her protesting feet jog her out of the underbrush toward her companions who were moving on at a comfortable walk. Many a pony turned its head to greet her with a whicker when she approached. She had fallen into step beside Bifur and his dark-coated pony when she saw Kili turn around and give her a sideways grin before looking forward and nudging his brother.

Frowning, wondering if he'd finally noticed his pipe was gone, she watched as Fili subsequently turned as well. There was a twinkle in his eye that she didn't quite trust. Seeing her suspicion, he grinned back at her and gave a wink, making her stomach heat up immediately. A similar smile spread across her face without her telling it to whatsoever. Bifur let out a quiet bark of a chuckle at the exchange.

Blushing, she gave her friend a look though it only made them both laugh quietly.

The two quiet souls were only given a few moments of peace before Kili declared loudly, turning on his pony to look at her, "Poppy, you're looking _lovely_ today! Wouldn't you say, Fili?" The two brothers exchanged a look with one another.

"Oh aye, _lovely_ is indeed the word for it. I'd say she's the _loveliest _of the group."

"Quite right you are, brother. She is quite _lovely_. You're _lovely_, Poppy!"

She saw their eyes flicker toward Bilbo for a split second before resting back on her, like everyone else's. Her cousin was looking toward the sky in irritation after letting out a deep sigh. Clapping his brother on the arm, Fili nodded, "I really can't think of a better word for it, can you Kili?"

"No, I really can't, Fili. I do believe _lovely_ is most apt. What do you think, Bilbo?"

The hobbit had since buried his face in his hands and given out another loud sigh of irritation. Completely and utterly confused by what had just happened and undeniably red at the inane amount of times she'd been called _lovely_, she questioned warily, "Bilbo, what did you do?"

She was answered with a strangled noise that suspiciously sounded like Bilbo was attempting to drown himself without any water as the dwarves all laughed heartily. Glancing up to Bifur for some sort of help, she only saw her friend huffing with laughter as well. "Bilbo…?"

There was an element of warning in her voice that he recognized and the hobbit groaned once more. "There…It…These two are impossible!" Crossing his arms and staring at Myrtle's mane as if it were the most interesting thing he had ever seen, Bilbo refused to say more.

Poppy couldn't help but smile at that. Raising an eyebrow in a way reminiscent of how Fili always looked at her, she asked resignedly, "What did you two do to him now?"

Attempting to sound as remorseful as possible, though the effect was negated by his bright grin, the darker brother explained, "Yesterday, we were all riding along as thick as thieves, or burglars rather, asking him a simple question about his lovely cousin, and Bilbo all but told us we couldn't talk to you."

Face assuming a flat expression, she replied disbelievingly, "Really…"

Snorting, Fili added, "Oh aye. We were threatened with having out beards ripped out by hand should we do more than call you lovely."

"No, it was our braids, brother."

"Indeed, I guess beards would be only going halfway, wouldn't it." He grinned back at Poppy as his little brother punched him harshly in the shoulder for the teasing.

Reining in her growing smile and keeping her voice nonchalantly flat, she shrugged, "Beards or braids are both better than what he did last time. Would you mind telling that story of why Griffo and Gruffo Bracegirdle run at the mere sight of me, Bilbo,? Because as flattered as I am that I am but lovely, I'm going to leave you fine gentlemen now before I gain any more adjectives."

Grinning wryly up at her cousin and the two brothers, she patted Bifur's leg in a goodbye and then loped back off the road, leaving Bofur, Bombur, and even Oin and Balin in hysterics. Gandalf in particular was chuckling with gusto up front where he rode with a stony Thorin. Fili watched her leave with a smile.

"Well," Dori commented, "the lass is in a particularly good mood today. Is she usually this animated, Mr. Baggins?"

"I do wonder what could have brought it on," Gandalf called back before Bilbo could speak, incurring a look from Fili that the dwarf worked quickly to hide before Kili noticed.

Groaning again as Fili and Kili trapped him on either side with their ponies, Bilbo replied without commenting on Gandalf's thoughts, "Not quite, no. She usually isn't. Not for a long time at least. Oh, what do you two want _now_?!"

"Bilbo, friend…"

"_Buddy_. Fili, I'd even call him our buddy." Bilbo sent Kili a scathing glare as the dwarf wrapped a friendly arm around his shoulders.

Fili nodded, "Yes, Bilbo, buddy, would you mind sharing this wonderful story with us?"

"Aye," Bofur encouraged with his easy smile, "a story will make the ride go faster, Bilbo. She did say to."

"Oh fine." Groaning, Bilbo managed to push Kili off before he began, "About two years ago, Poppy had just…come to live with me. She was out somewhere, the baker's I think, and I was outside in my garden. Everything was fine and normal and beautiful. My flowers were just coming up and my vegetables beginning to take hold. Nothing in the world could've gone wrong and then suddenly she sprints through the front gate like she was being chased by wolves. She had her staff in hand like she was about to hit someone over the head with it should they come close enough. I went to ask her what was wrong, but then these two doddering…._blockheads_ run right up behind her, grinning like two children who stole the pie! They ruined my gate, stomped all over my new daylilies, and scared the daylights out of her."

Bilbo's voice had grown increasingly louder and it reached a pinnacle when he continued, "Poppy is standing there beside me shaking like a blooming _leaf,_ though to be honest I'm not sure if it was fear or anger,because they had just quite literally chased her all the blooming way home and those _idiot _brothers have the nerve to both drop on one knee and ask for her hand! At the same time! They even said the same words, like their intention was to share her or something! That is not how things are done in the Shire. It is _not_."

Silence had descended at that, an odd tugging occurring in many a dwarf's chest.

"Well, what happened?" Kili asked, his voice rather stony.

Having collected himself somewhat, though still quite red in the face, Bilbo coughed a few times in an attempt to appear more respectable, "Well, I-I…" He suddenly began to laugh, "I chased them both down the lane with my garden shovel."

It took a second for the image of their burglar furiously running down the road waving a shovel at two attempted suitors to sink in. When it did, Poppy could hear the laughter all the way from where she walked. Frowning after they had all regained the ability to breathe, Kili took a good look at his brother's face. There was a tightness there along with amusement. It was small, only visible in the little line between his wheat blonde eyebrows that revealed his emotions to those who knew to look for it: Kili knew to look.

Looking down from his brother's oddly pained face to the hobbit beside him, the younger queried, "But why did they ask?"

"Indeed," Dori added pensively. "Don't take offense for the lass, but she doesn't seem the type to have a number of beaus running about."

Bilbo shook his head, "No, she's not. They didn't ask because they _liked _her. I don't think she remembered their names, actually. Poppy was…" he trailed off, trying to figure out the best word. She had just returned and the stories about her had abounded, saying everything from her being a singing nighttime performer in Bree to having been blessed by elves. He'd never been sure which of the two had prompted the brothers to chase her home…

"A novelty?" Fili suggested, glancing down at Bilbo.

The hobbit frowned momentarily at the blonde dwarf beside him. He _knew_. Bilbo hadn't the faintest idea when or why, but Poppy had told him at least part of things. He nodded slowly as he noticed the tense silence around them, "Yes, a novelty."

Abruptly adopting a smile, Fili looked forward again, "I'd say we dodged an arrow this time, Kili. Master Baggins is far too scary an opponent."

Smiling broadly, Kili nodded, "Lovely Poppy will stay lest we suffer the same fate."

Rolling his eyes, the hobbit laughed, "You two have the ability to be far too eloquent for your own good."

"You have no idea, Master Baggins." From the front of the company, Thorin had looked back with a small, proud smile on his face for his nephews. For that one moment, Bilbo could actually see happiness in the dwarf king. "You have no idea."

* * *

"Have we moved on from talking about me?" Poppy whispered hopefully, catching up with the group about an hour before sunset. Looking down with a smile, Bifur huffed the affirmative. She let out a clearly relieved sigh. While she still seemed in a happy mood, the feisty streak from before had gone dormant. She was quiet Poppy again and she was okay with that.

At her appearance, the dwarves toward the rear riding with Bifur all greeted her more warmly than before. Nori gave her a small nod and a quick wink. Dori ceremoniously bowed his head in his regal fashion. Ori began positively bouncing, searching and fumbling through his saddle bag to find his notebook. Oin gave what she assumed was a wave with his odd little ear trumpet. Bofur smiled widely and declared, "Well good afternoon, lass!"

Feeling an unexpected warmth in her chest at their gentle acceptance, she smiled back at them all. She didn't have a chance to do much else before Ori was beside her, "Poppy, do you mind if I ask you some things? There was so much in your forest and I took notes on everything! Could you help me identify these?"

Giggling lightly at his excitement and how he referred to it as 'her forest', she nodded, "Sure. What do you have?"

His quick, excited speech and her calm murmurs of reply were the only real sounds until Thorin declared a few miles later, "We'll stop here for the night!"

Preparing herself for what she knew would come, Poppy fell quiet as the company made its way off the road to a small little dell. When the others had all dismounted, she clucked to the ponies and the faithful steeds followed her toward the stream. Little had been done aside from lighting the fire before Thorin was behind her, looming in the intimidating way he had. She didn't even need to see it to feel herself shrink. She sighed even as she heard him take in his breath to speak.

"Go home, girl."

For a long second, she considered just not answering at all. What would it matter what words came out of her mouth? He'd keep asking and she'd keep saying no. He wasn't her king. She owed him no answers. He had certainly done nothing as of yet to have earned any from her. Plus, one does not usually converse with someone that unnerves her.

But even as the thoughts entered her head, she knew she would answer. If unobtrusive and cooperative she wished to be, creating a rift by disrespecting her new friends' king—and perhaps more importantly, uncle—was not going to work. As the others began to pause, the tension growing, she replied without turning about to look at him, "No thank you, sir."

As he continued to glare obvious holes into her back, she tried to keep her hands from trembling as she removed Daisy's tack, the pony completely oblivious to the tension about her.

"You're just going to get yourself killed, girl." There was just a tiny hint of concern hidden beneath the layers of irritation, anger, indifference, and exasperation. Had Fili not suggested his uncle's motive, she wouldn't have caught it at all. The dwarf king was not as completely a block of stone as he wished to be, though she wasn't about to go up and hug him for it: he still intimidated the daylights out of her. Still, she could see a glimpse of why Fili loved him so much.

Glancing back over her shoulder through her hair, she gently offered, "Then you will no longer need to worry about being rid of me, Master Thorin." Turning back to her work, she ended their little interlude and, with a quiet groan of irritation, the king made his way back to the fire. Poppy caught a grin on Gandalf's face hidden as he sat down near to her, his pipe in hand.

Reaching subtly down to feel the pipe still in her pocket, a small smile formed on her face as well. Kili would notice soon.

Calling happily and boisterously from the fire, Bofur asked, "Have you got anything for Bombur today, lass?" Grinning at his brother he added, "He's likely to try to squeeze the life out of you again if you do."

Letting out a giggle as the others all laughed at the bright, cheery, round expression on the cook's face, she shook her head, "I'm sorry. I didn't find anything."

"Oh, he's liable to hug you anyway, lass," Bofur added, sending her an encouraging smile beneath his crazy, adorable hat.

Bifur was soon beside her, dropping his things to the ground to get comfortable for the night. Poppy was quickly done with her work and the ponies were grazing contentedly before Bombur had their dinner fully simmering. Letting out a silent sigh at finally being done for the day, she lay down beside Bifur and propped her feet up on her pack, resting the tired extremities. She felt Bilbo come and sit beside her after she'd closed her eyes, intending to take a short nap.

"Oh no! No! Where is it?!" She did her very, very best to keep the smile from her face as Kili worriedly began rummaging through his possessions with growing panic. "No, where is it?! Fili, where is my pipe?!"

She peeked one eye open and looked back, finding Fill's eye. Grin growing as hers did, the dwarf suddenly winked at her, ignoring the slight swell of his stomach at her smile. Bilbo caught the exchange with a growing frown. Bifur simply huffed with laughter, pulling his belongings closer to him. Leaning further back against his pack, the elder brother suggested, "Perhaps the _squirrels_ took it."

Grin not leaving, his eyes shifted toward Poppy. Aghast look of betrayal on his face, Kili swung to see her lying on the grass, holding _his pipe_ in the air. A high giggle escaping her, she was on her feet and weaving through ponies before Kili had even started chasing her, though it didn't take him long to be kicking through everyone's things to get to her. Hair flying behind her and smacking some surprised ponies in the face, she called laughingly, "You look _lovely_ this evening, Kili."

"_POPPY_!"

* * *

A/N: Hello there! So, here's some more. It's a bit of fun before they really get too far into their adventure. Everyone's becoming friends, except for Thorin because he's cranky, which is all just lovely. :) I absolutely love hearing from you guys. You have such good thoughts and the encouragement really kicks my muse into gear. So, thanks so much for reading, leave a review if you could, and I hope you enjoyed! More to come Thursday. :)


	12. Always

"_POPPY_!"

Reveling completely in the feeling that she was acting like a child, Poppy sprinted towards the nearest tree. Shoving Kili's pipe back in her pocket, she leaped upward to grab a branch and commenced pulling herself upward. The angry dwarf wasn't far behind, grabbing for her foot and only just missing before climbing himself.

"Poppy!"

A few branches up and with nowhere to go, she looked around, finding only one solution.

Sucking in a breath, she balanced her large feet on the branch right above Kili's head and made a flying leap toward the tree's nearest neighbor. Screeching as she flew, she fortunately managed to grab one of the branches and keep herself above the ground. Dangling there, she looked back to see Kili's mouth hanging slightly open.

"How in the name of Durin's beard did you do that?!"

Grinning breathlessly as her muscles strained, she began trying to pull herself up, "Luck!"

As she struggled to get a foot up and over the branch above her, Kili scampered down. Using that strength that all dwarves have to pull himself upward. He was just within reach of her ankle and successfully retrieving his pipe when the hobbit let out a grasp of surprise above him and quite suddenly his entire world was filled with falling Poppy. With a shout, Kili attempted to catch her, but gravity won.

The two fell to the ground in a heap.

There was a stunned silence for the stretch of a breath in which no one moved. In a flash of movement, it was broken as both Fili and Bilbo leapt to their feet and were quickly at the pair. Kili had landed on his side, the wind knocked out of him. Poppy had landed atop him, his pipe and elbow sticking into her back. Her vision swam for a short bit before being quite suddenly invaded by hazel eyes and a mass of wheat blonde hair and braids.

Being completely unable to help it, she began to laugh. Her giggles bubbled straight up from her belly and refused to stop. Both leaning over her and Kili, Bilbo and Fili exchanged a smile. Holding out a hand, the dwarf grinned, "You need to work on those squirrel skills, Poppy."

Snorting through her laughter, she gasped out, "I just fell out of a tree."

Shaking his head with a smile, Fili agreed, "Yes, yes, you did. Come on." He reached down and grabbed her arm. Grasping his sleeve, she soon found herself upright. Their hands lingered rather longer than necessary and a tightly smiling Bilbo was immediately beside them, a hand on his cousin's arm.

Kili was soon up with his brother's help, too. Brushing some dirt from his side, he demanded, "What did I ever do to deserve this?"

Smiling warmly, her laughter having subsided, Poppy gave him a quick hug around his chest where she reached. Bilbo, Fili, and the dwarf in question all looked rather surprised. Pulling back, she held out his pipe to him, "Be nice to Bilbo and this terribly inept squirrel will leave you and your things alone. Thank you for cushioning my fall."

Rubbing her slightly branch-burned hands together, she made her way back to Bifur. The old warrior had a bright sparkle in his eye and was shaking with silent laughter, nodding toward poor Bombur. Looking, she tried and failed to suppress a smile at the destruction Kili's chase had made. Packs had been upturned, more than one cup spilled, and three sausages dropped into the fire. Reaching quickly into the fire, Bombur was holding the meat sadly in his hands, blowing on them in an attempt to put them out before they got burned as well as ashy. His expression made her think of one who had just lost his dog or child instead of his supper.

As the silence continued and a myriad of stares were sent the hobbit's way, Bofur cleared his throat and declared, "Oh come on, Bombur. At least it was just three. What's that story about the butcher and the cat that keeps stealing his wares by threes…?" his lilting, rolling voice telling the amusing story that his imagination had invented on the spot.

Kili, Fili, and Bilbo returned to the group soon after and following ten minutes of welcoming his pipe back to his possession, the youngest dwarf was in a decidedly better mood. Dinner was a simpler affair that night. Poppy stayed where she sat and Bilbo brought her a bowl. Thorin looked on, a scowl on his seemingly always stony face, but he said nothing. Bofur continued on with his tales as the sun descended and his kin began to make requests for stories they knew.

Bilbo sitting enraptured beside her, Poppy felt herself beginning to fall asleep when the loquacious dwarf coughed after a large swill of water and declared, "I'm sorry, but I'm all out of stories, lads."

Smirking, Fili corrected, "No, you're out of breath. You never run out of stories."

Shrugging with a laugh, Bofur amended, "Aye that's true, but you're not supposed to call me out on it, lad." Taking a deep inhale from his pipe, he glanced over to the two hobbits. Bilbo was sitting cross-legged, his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands like a child. Poppy's eyes had flickered open slightly at the sound of Fili's voice but soon found their bard for the evening from her place beside his cousin, her head upon her pack and her feet resting lazily on the grizzled warrior's stomach. The axe fragment being tugged slightly up and down while he breathed in from his own pipe, Bifur didn't seem to mind.

"What about our hobbits then? Your people love good food and ale. Stories always come when those two are together. Tell us a Shire story."

As all eyes turned toward the two shorter members, Poppy remained silent and Bilbo stuttered for a moment, "I…Well, what would you want to hear?"

"Whatever you want to tell," Bofur encouraged. "My voice needs a rest."

Raising an eyebrow the hobbit replied, "Somehow I doubt that. I-I really don't know what to tell. We don't have grand stories of battles and warriors and riches."

Kili was the one to shrug then, "Not all of ours do, either. Tell us something anyway, Bilbo." Grinning, he suggested, "Tell us of how respectable a hobbit you were before we invaded your house and you started chasing people with shovels." The group laughed at that and even Bilbo chuckled with some chagrin.

From his half shadow shrouded place on the edge of camp, Gandalf spoke jovially, "You had some interesting adventures as a tween, Bilbo. I daresay between you and Anna, you could think of an amusing tale to tell. I told them that you two were more ornery than Fili and Kili. I don't think they believe me yet."

Looking over and finding blue eyes looking back at him, Bilbo sighed, "Do you have any ideas, Poppy?"

Smiling faintly before closing her eyes again, she suggested quietly, "Do you remember when we stampeded the sheep?"

Laughing heartily, the wizard added, "_I_ remember that story. As I recall, the two of you were grounded for months."

"Grounded?! Grounded was the least of things. I didn't get dessert for a _month_." Bilbo made it sound as if his parents had taken a limb for his crimes. At the hobbit's fiery tone, the dwarves all smiled.

Raising an eyebrow and glancing back at him, Poppy interjected, "Yes you did. I brought you mine because you whined about it so much. You got to go home. I had to bring the garden back to life single-handedly."

Waving a hand dismissively in her direction, Bilbo shrugged, "You're good at that, though. It only took you a week to get everything planted and sprouted again."

"I'm no expert," Bofur cut in with a smile, "but I've heard it told that it's usually best to start a story from the beginning."

Fixing the quick-witted dwarf with a look, Bilbo sighed, "Very well. Long ago for us, but not so long ago for you, I was a young hobbit of twenty two and Poppy was a positively diminutive one of seven." He flinched as she blindly slapped at him for mocking her admittedly shorter than average stature at that age. Scooting closer to Balin and out of her arm's reach to the amusement of all, he continued, "The two of us were really always together at either her house or mine. As it happened that summer day in July, we got bored at hers."

Halting for a moment, Bilbo glanced at his cousin with slight worry. They hadn't really talked about when they were younger or her home since she'd returned. Her eyes were still closed and a small smirk was on her face, though. He never could tell when she was putting on a happy face for his benefit, but at that moment she did look genuinely content. Perhaps Bifur was a particularly good footrest. Whatever it was, he decided it safe to continue.

"Poppy's family was one of shepherds and they had a large flock that we took advantage of quite often. Those poor sheep dealt with so much, I'm not sure why they didn't hate us. I don't even remember what we were using them as that day."

"They were the sea. We were sailing over them," she responded immediately, remembering the day quite well.

"Oh yes. Anyway, we were sailing over them by way of walking across their backs and shouting things like ahoy. The one rule about Poppy's sheep, though, was never bother the ram. He was the crankiest creature to _ever_ walk the ground of Middle-earth, I swear. He usually sat on the outside of the group, so we get away with everything. And, correct me if I'm wrong, Poppy, but we had just reached Valinor when you decided to push me off the boat and right into him!"

Shrugging with a yawn, she replied lightly despite his incensed tone to the amusement of all, "How was I supposed to know he was in the middle?"

Shaking his head with amused exasperation, Bilbo sighed, "Because he was black with horns amongst a flock of white and tan sheep. Well, I fell straight into the ram, he lost his mind, and all his ewes were soon following him straight toward the house. I was stuck hanging on for dear life as they jumped _completely_ over the fence and washed over the garden like a giant fluffy wave and Poppy sat there on the ground laughing hysterically at me. Moments later, Aunt Belinda came out to find her home positively covered with sheep and her roof creaking under the weight… Let's just say she was unhappy. And thus, did my dessert leave me for thirty long days."

Smiling fondly at the memory as the dwarves chuckled at Bilbo's misfortune, Poppy asked warmly, "Do you remember when we stole Farmer Maggot's pony on accident?"

Chuckling, Bilbo nodded, "That was also all your fault. What about when we went searching for elves and got lost for two days in Bindbale Woods?"

"_That_ was your fault and I loved every minute of it."

Giving the pair a smile, Bofur commented, "I take it you two have been best friends for a long time."

Smiling fondly at his cousin, for whatever reason quite overcome with such a wave of gratitude and love at that moment that Bilbo's voice was slightly choked when he nodded, "Yes… Ever since she was old enough to follow me wherever I went. Although, it was always where I followed her that made for the best adventures. We've alwaysbeen best friends. We've _never_ stopped."

Many a dwarf swore they saw the gleam of tears in her eyes when she smiled back at her cousin. The warm, contented feeling of the moment held and the silence remained. Many found themselves compelled to puff a few final times on their pipes before putting them out and climbing into bedrolls.

Smiling a good night to Bifur as he wrapped his cloak about him and managed to cover her feet with it too, Poppy pulled her own cloak about her and let the sleep of the fatigued take her.

* * *

In what felt like only a matter of moments, Poppy found herself awake at the sound of voices. Blinking against the darkness that the fading fire didn't quite keep away, she looked about to see Fili climbing sleepily out from under his blanket, a snoring Kili beside him. Thorin was the one finishing his watch and she remained silent as the two men spoke.

Thorin had almost returned to his own bedroll when she heard his nephew ask with a sigh, "Uncle, why are you trying so hard? Why don't you want her?"

"Because she's of no use to us. She'll only slow us down, invade our thoughts during battle, and distract us from our quest." Though she knew that Thorin held no love for her, his words said in so blunt and stony a fashion sent little barbs bouncing about her chest. It hurt and burned and ached to be unwanted, that she knew better than anyone.

"I mean the real reason, uncle," Fili objected, what almost sounded like a smile in his voice. There was certainly no fear in it, for which she admired the blonde dwarf. Even with a weapon of some kind in her hand, she wouldn't dare to speak to the king like that.

Sighing himself, Thorin didn't reply. He just laid a hand on his nephew's shoulder and squeezed it through the layers of cloth and leather. While she didn't understand, Fili seemed to and he nodded, "You think it wise?"

"I'm going to try." Thorin's voice was resigned as he turned and retreated under his own blankets and Fili sat upon the edge of camp, taking out something and beginning to work on it. From the darkness, she saw him look her way briefly before looking back down at whatever it was. Keeping her eye on Thorin, she waited until the king's breathing was steady and slow before slowly, silently, and gently getting up and making her way over to Fili.

She made sure to make a small but audible amount of noise lest she be impaled. With only a slight jolt of surprise did Fili look up to see her standing there. His hand just got to the hilt of his sword, it wasn't actually drawn. Smiling up at her, heart refusing to beat slower for the time being, he commented, "You know I was joking when I said I'd wake you up."

Smiling back as she sat beside him, Poppy shrugged, "I'm terrible with understanding sarcasm."

He rolled his eyes, "Yes, just like you're terrible at moving silently and not antagonizing my little brother."

She giggled at that before falling quiet, looking up to the partially cloudy night sky, the moon large and almost full from where it shone through. A few moments passed in which she began to fidget uncomfortably, the movements not escaping her companion. Frowning at the odd tension he felt in the air, Fili looked away from his work, "Poppy, what's wrong?"

Brown hair reflecting red in the firelight as it swayed, she shook her head, looking down at her feet. To be honest, she was embarrassed about the direction her thoughts had taken her after overhearing the two dwarves' conversation. They had taken her down an uncomfortable road that saddened large parts of her in a way that surprised her. She thought she'd dealt with those feelings at being unwanted and unneeded, the ones that made her feel as if she were watching small parts of her soul being repeatedly crushed in front of her eyes.

Watching as one little bit was readied to be reduced to dust with her dirty feet as a backdrop, she jumped when a warm, leather-gloved hand grabbed hers. Her hand twitched, wanting to squeeze back on instinct, but she successfully fought it off, also keeping her head from turning.

"Poppy?"

Fili watched the hobbit beside him with growing confusion and concern as she refused to look at him and he saw a few tears run down and drop off the end of her nose. Though he knew that women were supposed to be fickle or moody or irrational, he just couldn't see it with her. When there was something wrong with Poppy, something was wrong. The way Bilbo walked on tiptoes about her feelings at times corroborated that well enough. The minutes dragged on and those blue eyes didn't turn to look at him, though her hand didn't move an inch from his.

If he hadn't been so troubled at the situation, he thought he'd probably be staring at that sight. There was something about her small, thin hand in his that did odd things to his chest.

Not knowing where it got the permission to do so, he watched helplessly as his hand released hers and went up to hold her face in it. "Poppy?"

Blue eyes widening like a deer catching sight of a hunter, he thought she was going to physically bolt. For a moment, the entire earth seemed to hold its breath. Biting her lip as her body relaxed, she didn't move. Taking a hand and pushing her hair behind her ear, she finally sighed, "You know, you don't have to be nice to me. Thorin doesn't want me here and I don't wish to…" She trailed off there, unable to articulate quite what she meant.

Suddenly smiling, Fili frowned, "You don't want Thorin to be mad with me because I don't tell you to go back."

"I've been unwanted before, Fili. I know what it looks like."

"You think I don't want you here?" he seemed a bit more amused than hurt at the suggestion, as if her believing it wasn't insulting but rather funny. She didn't reply. Smiling widely, he continued softly, "Poppy, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you're my friend."

Ever so slightly returning the expression, she replied like she had just one night before, "That's not so dangerous a place to sit."

Grin widening, his thumb gently running across her cheek, Fili insisted, "Dwarves never feel anything halfway, Poppy. We can be slow on the uptake, but shrinking away isn't in our nature. You're stuck with me, I promise you that. Also, I'm pretty sure you're stuck with Kili, too. Despite today, I think he's growing rather fond of you. No one else is silly like him. Don't even get me started with Bifur. He'll jump in front of a warg for you. Do I even need to mention Bilbo?"

Cheeks blushing red as he somehow knew exactly what to say by reassuring her that she did have friends, she let out a deep laughing breath. He continued to smile at her as she regained a sense of normalcy as the insecurity passed, the crushing no longer a danger. Smile brightening to mirror his, she thanked him quietly, "I'm not a dwarf, but hobbits are pretty…stout when it comes to loyalty, too."

Removing his hand and trying to pull it back as inconspicuously as possible, Fili laughed, "I've noticed."

Her dark mood having passed and the night sitting there next to Fili again a comfortable place, she frowned at what he was doing as he flinched at poking himself in the thumb with a needle. "What are you doing?" Watching as his thread slipped from the eye and his thick dwarf fingers failed to catch it, she amended with amusement, "What are you _trying_ to do?"

Sending her a look, he answered, "Kili ripped his sleeve. He's shite with sewing so I'm trying to mend it for him."

"It's the third day! How did he rip it already?" she asked with disbelief.

His expression flat, he looked her straight in the eye, "He fell out of a tree."

A giggle escaping, Poppy grabbed the garment from him and took it into her own lap. "Here give me that. You'll be here until winter." At the shocked look on his face, she protested, "Hey, just because I'm not normal doesn't mean I can't sew. I am a girl you know."

"No one is debating that fact, Poppy." The grin on his face made her blush again and she smiled in return.

After threading the needling and knotting off the opposite end of the thread, she glanced up to see him watching her. Beginning to successfully mend Kili's sleeve, she requested with her voice her usual quiet one, "So, tell me about when you and Kili were little."

When Fili's watch had almost ended and it was almost time for him to wake Dwalin, Poppy rose and handed Kili's repaired garment back, smiling warmly at the dwarf beside her. Before she turned to go after she'd stood, she found herself bending down and pressing a kiss of thanks to his cheek, his stubble pleasantly scratchy against her lips. She did nothing but smile at the look of surprise on his face as she backed away, finally turning and stepping over Kili and his brethren to go back to Bifur in the darkness.

Carefully feigning sleep, her self-proclaimed protector smiled faintly at the exchange as he had been since she had awoken. As quiet and sneaky as she was, he'd been unobtrusively listening and watching the length of the younger dwarf's watch. When her smile refused to desert her face even as she wrapped her cloak back around her and curled onto her side to sleep, he carefully hid his beneath beard.

The lass feared she had no friends in the company, a fear he suspected came not from their behavior but from her own memories, but unless he was much mistaken she wouldn't have to worry about that from at least one blonde-haired dwarf. While he had unconsciously agreed with Fili's statement that he would quite willingly take on a warg for her, he also had no doubt that the prince would draw those two swords of his and cut down anything between them should she need it.

His king was going to be fighting an impossibly uphill battle trying to get her to go home now.

* * *

A/N: Hello there! So, I actually had a bit of a hard time getting going on this chapter and then it just took off and drug me behind it. My head's spinning a tad bit to be honest. The only thing it didn't give me was a decent title. Sorry if it's a bit terrible. As always, your reviews are all so amazing! You guys never ever disappoint and they all just make me so warm and fuzzy. On that note, thanks so much for reading, leave me a review if you could, and I hope you enjoyed. :)


	13. The Village of Bree

Poppy awoke the next morning to a rush of cold air on her feet. Curling her legs up into her chest, her body held onto sleep for a moment, before her brain took over and overruled that line of thinking. Blinking awake, she found Bifur pushing himself up, his movements causing his cloak to shift and the aforementioned cold draft to get in. Wondering how he had managed to cover her feet up in his sleep, she smiled a good morning at him as she pushed her hair from her face, its curls beginning to knot slightly. The warrior gave her a bright smile as he helped her up.

Letting out a yawn and stretching up toward the nascent morning sky painted with purples, pinks, and the beginning of orange, she quickly got to work. She shook out her cloak, stowed it away, then saddled the always happy to see her ponies. Unlike the prior mornings, she decided to stay, remaining quietly on the edge of camp with the ponies as the others reluctantly shrugged off sleep. Moira and Kili's pony Minty came quickly over, nuzzling her shoulders and hands in search of a sweet. Sorry to disappoint, Poppy could only give them both friendly scratches.

They were blowing happily in her face, making her giggle silently, when she sensed a presence behind her. Glancing back, she saw Fili standing just inches from her. A smile stretched itself across her face as she felt her stomach begin that odd, wonderful little dance it always did when he was near. Braids and blonde hair slightly mussed from sleep, he returned the smile, though said nothing. Reaching out a hand, his arm brushed her shoulder as he rubbed his pony between the ears.

The pair stood there in silence, merely smiling to themselves as the sun and their companions rose.

Bombur, who had taken last watch, soon had breakfast ready and distributed about his kin. Pulling a pear from her pack, Poppy gave the large dwarf a soothing smile when he looked uncertainly from her to his king after providing Fili his helping, unsure whether to give her a biscuit or not. Taking a bite of the fruit, she turned back to the ponies and readjusted her back on her back.

Walking up beside her, Gandalf broke any tension that might've arisen. "Good morning, Anna. How are our trusty steeds this morning?"

Voice only slightly louder than the early morning breeze blowing, she smiled back, "Happy and carefree as always."

"Ah, to be so lucky," he sighed wistfully with a wry wink to match. "Now, come and help an old man for a moment, my dear." His staff in one hand, he leaned a bit heavily on her shoulder with the other. Frowning a bit, knowing he was as fit as any elf, she followed without comment. He was up to something again.

She aided him to his horse. As the animal swung its head back to brush her forehead, the wizard murmured as he adjusted his voluminous robes, "We shall reach Bree by the end of today. Unless I am much mistaken, we'll be staying the night at the Prancing Pony Inn." Smiling faintly, he added, "I wanted you to be forewarned this time."

Saying nothing, she just let out a breath and gave him a determined nod. Crowds, people, and bars really were not her preferred place of lodging or even of frequenting. Though she doubted any of them beside Gandalf, Bilbo, and Fili would understand why, she did not do well with crowds, especially ale-addled ones.

If the Prancing Pony was where they were going, though, that's where she was, too.

Squeezing her shoulder encouragingly, her old friend smiled more strongly, "Don't worry, little Anna. Should our leader decide to prove…uncooperative about your sleeping arrangements, the innkeeper Butterbur is an old friend of mine. You won't be sleeping outside or all alone."

"I wouldn't mind bunking with the ponies."

Giving a laugh as he mounted, he shook his head, "Nor would they, I'd imagine. You certainly never lost your claim to your name, Anna." As he chuckled, she shot a warm smile up at him before turning away and taking her place at the edge of camp. As they had conversed, the others had all readied themselves and the company was ready to set off.

Munching on her pear as ponies munched on bits and dwarves better seated themselves, Poppy looked on. With a wearily irritated look from Thorin in her direction, they soon started forward. Immediately finding Bifur and his pony, their day truly began.

Dropping back beside his cousin, Bilbo queried, "Where do you think we'll get today?"

Rolling her eyes without any real irritation, she wondered why he continued to ask her where they would get given that she'd never been so far from the Shire in her life. Sure, she'd been out of it living in the Old Forest for fifteen years, but that hardly made her an expert on the rest of the lands of Middle Earth. Shrugging, she nodded forward, "I don't know. Ask Gandalf, perhaps."

Picking up his cue to speak, the wizard offered, "We will be reaching the village of Bree, Master Baggins. I believe you have relative there, do you not?"

Frowning, the hobbit nodded, "I think so…Poppy, do we?" That time she sent him a look of real irritation. He chuckled at it, "I forgot. You're not as family tree savvy as I am."

"_No one_ is as genealogically inclined as you, Bilbo." Chuckling comfortably, the two cousins walked on, Bilbo's attention soon being taken by Ori next to him. Poppy and Bifur continued on in silence. Subtly, the dwarf held out a biscuit to her. He gave her a quick wink before staring straight ahead once again.

After a few miles, just as the female hobbit was contemplating veering off into the brush as she tended to, Kili's voice broke through her thoughts. "By Mahal's beard, how did _this_ happen?"

A sharp look from Thorin made the young dwarf blush slightly at his language as Bofur jovially queried with a grin in Poppy's direction, "What've the _squirrels_ done to you now, lad?"

"This wasn't squirrels. This is impossible! Look at this!" He held up his newly mended shirt for the company to see. "Look at this! It's actually decent mending." Eyebrow raising and his eyes narrowing, he looked to his brother beside him, "Who are you and what have you done with Fili? My brother can't sew any better than I can and that's saying a very large bit about the terribleness of his skills."

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Fili reached for the garment, "If you don't want it, then _I'll _take it."

Quickly pulling it to his chest, Kili shouted, "No!" As the others laughed, the brother joined in the mirth. When the noise had quieted, the younger reiterated, "How _did_ it turn out so well? You've only had this for a night. You couldn't have learned to sew decently overnight."

As he followed his brother's treacherous hazel gaze backwards to where the hobbit woman walked, Poppy chose to quickly and silently take her leave. She had disappeared before Kili could make any accusations out loud. That she awoke in the night to spend an hour alone with his brother was not something she exactly wanted the entire company to know…

Coming to the girl's and Fili's aid, Bifur huffed loudly and barked in Khuzdul, _I did_.

The warrior was adept at a great many things and none of the dwarves questioned it. Adding as an afterthought, Bilbo put in, "Poppy's excellent at sewing." Looking at his fraying left cuff, he wondered aloud, "Maybe I can get her to fix this for me."

Bifur looked toward the sky with a long-suffering expression. That hobbit…

* * *

Hours later, with the sun beginning its descent toward the horizon as afternoon sped by, Poppy rejoined the group to thankfully find the topic of conversation no longer on Fili's mending skills. Instead, it was on ale. In what was far more heated a debate than it needed to be in her opinion, Bilbo, Dwalin, Kili, and Nori were arguing the faults and qualities of various ales they intended to imbibe that evening.

The look she sent up at Bifur made the dwarf huffing with laughter. Their companions' voice began to ring slightly as they came closer to Bree's gate and the houses lining the road grew in number. Without really thinking about it, Poppy found her staff in her hand instead of across her back. They weren't even in the town yet and she was nervous.

As they went, a staggering trio of already drunken men went by, throwing interested glances in her direction. Her grip on her staff tightened and she could _feel_ the blood drain from her face. When the three began whispering at a volume far above that of normal whispering and the words 'lass', 'wench', and 'pretty' reached the back of the group, she found herself quickly surrounded on all sides. Bifur was on her right, Bombur on her left, and Bofur had fallen back behind her. His large mattock in hand and a smile that held an unusually sinister element to it on his face, the latter called cheerfully, "I'd find your way to the next pub if I were you, friends."

When his words caught the attention of all his companions and a number of axes and swords were not so terribly subtly reached for—the tension in Fili's body for instance seemed to make even his moustache braids bristle—the trio proved to be sober enough to make intelligent decisions. They turned back in the direction they had been going and very conspicuously did not look back.

Poppy let out a silent breath. She couldn't help but return the gesture as both Bombur and Bofur grinned fondly down at her. She tried to ignore the stony glare Thorin had sent back at her.

Wall looming darkly above them, the company was stopped at the entrance and an old, grizzled gatekeeper appeared. "Who are you and what is your business here?" His shifting eyes surveyed the group before him.

Thorin was the one to give answer, "I am Thorin Oakenshield and my company and I are staying at the inn." No one failed to notice that he said they _would_ stay, not that they wished to stay. Gatekeeper or not, the man still on the ground had little choice.

"Very well, sir. I'll need your company's names, however."

Letting out an indignant breath, Thorin nodded shortly and began naming off his companions, the man's eyes following as each dwarf raised his hand as his name was called.

Before they reached the back, Bifur held out his hand to the hobbit beside him with a grunt. Glancing from it up to Thorin for only a fleeting moment, Poppy took it and swung herself up behind the dwarf. She handed him her staff and concealed herself as efficiently as she could beneath his cloak, holding onto his sides and bringing her shorter legs up. Instead of his usual size, he appeared as large as Bombur, but she remained thankfully hidden. Letting out a deep breath, she rested her forehead against his back as her heartbeat returned to normal. Thank _all_ the Valar and especially Aulë for creating Bifur. She had no idea where the Prancing Pony was, but getting from the gate to it with people—undoubtedly all far taller than her—would not have been good for her nerves.

When Thorin glanced back to find no female hobbit trailing after them, he was hopeful for a short moment before noticing her staff in Bifur's hand along with his own glaive. He sent a scowl back at the dwarf, but the warrior of few words hardly reacted, only giving him a respectful nod. Leaving the girl's name out of his list—she _wasn't_ part of the company after all—he looked back to the gatekeeper. "Now may we pass?"

Giving a nod, the man conceded, "Indeed. Enjoy your stay, master dwarf. Being as the weekend begins tomorrow, I'd make sure to watch your step, though. The ale and beer tend to flow a bit too freely on nights like this one."

Thorin gave the man an appreciative gesture before urging his pony on as the others followed. Though the sun had yet to set, the gatekeeper's words rang true and many an inebriated fool staggered past them in the street as they wound their way toward the Prancing Pony.

Bright smile on his face at the prospect of some good ale and a bed, Kili appeared next to Bifur, "Can you actually _use_ that?" He nodded laughingly toward Poppy's staff. Raising his eyebrow at the prince, the dwarf let go of his reins for a moment, took the staff in his left and not lead hand and smacked Kili in the chest with it.

Poppy fought to hold back a snort at the look of surprise on Kili's face. As he wasn't hiding, Bifur didn't need to and openly huffed with laughter. Chuckling right along, Bofur patted Kili's shoulder, "Bifur's been hacking away at anything he deemed necessary for a long time, lad. I'll bet the only thing he can't wield with skill is a bow."

Smirking, Fili added comfortingly, "That's why we have you, little brother."

"Wow, that staff has some weight to it," Kili gasped, more impressed than embarrassed. He'd felt it before, but it was different when he was being hit with it. "Where did Poppy get that thing?"

From a few paces ahead, Bilbo proffered, "She made it. Where is she, anyway?" He looked around worriedly. He hadn't seen her since the gate and those three drunken imbeciles.

Smile widening as he saw some brown curls poking out from beneath Bifur's cloak, Fili answered, "She's fine, Bilbo. There's nowhere safer than where she is right now." The hobbit looked at him with confusion before shaking his head and giving up. She would show up, he had no doubt, though that didn't make him feel better in the slightest about her being out in a town with drunken people on her own.

Poppy had to smile from her hiding place. He really was incredibly sweet when it came to protecting her.

Under Bifur's watchful eye, Poppy hid herself in the stables that night. She had no desire to sleep in the same room as Thorin and incur his wrathful gaze the entire night, nor did she feel like dealing with the prospect of any inebriated dwarves…or Bilbo for that matter. Their new companions could take care of the incredibly friendly and loving drunk that her cousin was. She was willing to bet every possession she had that at least half of them would receive a hug from the hobbit before the night was through.

Infinitely more comfortable in the relative open that was the barn, she and Bifur relaxed in contented silence. He puffed on his pipe and she found herself even more loved by the ponies as she proceeded to brush them all. The pair found themselves decidedly content, the sounds of carousing and partying faint compared to the huffing and whickering of their four-legged roommates. Both were very happy with their lodging decision.

The stars out in full force and the ale undoubtedly flowing more freely than the Brandywine River, Poppy pulled out her cloak to sleep in as she found a soft pile of straw to take advantage of near where Bifur had been reclining the whole evening. She had just laid her head down, when a figure appeared in the doorway of the stables. Smiling as she recognized him, she asked with a joking softness, "Have they decided which ale is best yet?"

Laughing, Fili shook his head as he sat beside her, giving a nod to Bifur, "No, but Bilbo certainly seems keen to personally try them all. He also seems keen on telling us just how very much he enjoys our company."

Snorting with mirth, she nodded, "My cousin is an exceedingly loving drunk."

"A fact you conveniently _didn't_ warn us about."

Her grin was wry. "You appreciate it so much more when you find out for yourself."

Rolling his eyes, he gently shoved her shoulder, "My ears appreciate his and Kili's singing so much more when I'm not present."

Blue eyes sparkling, she laughed, "You're welcome to hide from it with us, then. I was going to ask why you left the festivities, but that answers my question." The two sat there grinning at one another for a long moment that was only broken by one of Bifur's throaty chuckles. Her face immediately blushed and Fili looked back down at his hands, feeling rather like he was fifty years younger than he actually was.

"So, have you two had any trouble out here? No more drunken idiots have come by, have they?" There was a concern in the dwarf's voice that made her face heat up again for some unknown reason. Bifur answered with a curt word in Khuzdul that could only have meant no.

Infinitely less tense than he had been moments before, Poppy had to smile as Fili reclined against the hay beside her, appearing to be in no mood to go back in just yet.

Poppy couldn't remember actually falling asleep, but she did distinctly remember laughing hazel eyes, a warm arm against hers, and two deep voices speaking Khuzdul. All things considered, she decided, Bree had not been so bad.

* * *

When the sun rose and hangovers began to be nursed the next morning, Poppy found her day beginning as she expected it to. She woke up, readied the ponies and gave a smile of good morning to Bifur. The others appeared in varying degrees of wishing they weren't alive to bear the brunt of their headaches and another day on the quest of Erebor began.

Her staff in hand, she walked at the end of the line, Bifur handed her her breakfast and Bilbo held back to talk to her for a while. Gandalf bid her a cheery, "Good morning, Anna." The others gave her varying degrees of smiles and nods. She found Fili, Kili, Bofur, and Bombur all in a protective circle about her until Bree and Staddle disappeared behind them. Once open land was before them again, she gave grateful smiles to them all and disappeared into the wild.

By noon and the heat of the day, the ponies physically objected to anything more than a comfortable, lazy walk and she reappeared amongst them from the brush she'd been hiding in and tramping inconspicuously through. Bofur greeted her loudly, offering up a short, always amusing tale when she looked tired. Ori was next in line, his notebook in hand and a million questions raring to escape him. As soon as she arrived, Fili and Kili dropped back to ride beside her, a teasing remark and a quick smile on the younger's face and a grin that did lovely things to her stomach on the elder's.

As they made their way to the east and she disappeared again, she actively searched for something to contribute to Bombur's supper pot. The round ball of warmth and cheer that the dwarf was had a broad grin when she presented him with her findings.

Though she was the last in, Bombur made a point of holding supper for her, uncomfortably fibbing when Thorin demanded why it wasn't ready yet. As soon as she arrived, Thorin demanded with all his harsh, stony abilities that she leave and go home. With a growing sense of confidence despite her ongoing fear of the king, she replied, "No thank you, sir."

Jokes were made, stories told, and sleep was had by all when the darkness grew. The request for more and more stories of her and Bilbo's childhood adventures was made again. Then, with Bifur and Gandalf near and silently at hand, she slept with her feet complaining the dark hours away. By some work of her subconscious, her brain trained itself to wake at the sound of Fili's voice and she found herself crawling out from under her cloak to go and sit with him through his watch.

A bright, content smile always on her face, she snuck quietly back to her place and fell back to sleep, happily bright and swirling thoughts carrying her to sleep instead of her crying feet. Morning, the dawn, and usually a happy bird or two would arrive a few hours later and all would begin again.

And so the routine of her days began. The irony did not escape her that she had developed a routine on an _adventure_! There would be enough days of walking, she supposed, that a routine would be good. Routine meant that nothing bad was happening. The smile upon her face growing brighter and easier with every new morning, Poppy began to welcome the routine, though she had one of those faint, unspoken inklings that she was just unable to get rid of her smiles from the nights before.

But, the easy, good-omened routine was not to last forever. After all, they _were_ on an adventure...

* * *

A/N: Why hello there! So, I hadn't intended the company to stop off in Bree at all, but alas, to Bree we went. Don't you just love it when the characters do what they want instead of what you do. :) Thanks for all your lovely reviews on the last chapters. They made me feel warm and fuzzy. :)

So, we're kinda sorta entering a newish part of the story after this. I can't really explain it very well. We're just crossing over from places Bilbo and Poppy would actually know to some extent and the wild (and some movie plot tie-ins!) is before them. Anywho, thanks so much for reading everyone, leave a review if you could, and I hope you enjoyed. See you Monday. :)


	14. Exploring with Ori

"Good afternoon, lass! How are the forest paths that we stout dwarves daren't tread this day?"

Smiling at Bofur's now almost habitual greeting four days after they had left Bree behind them, Poppy corrected softly, "You mean have I found anything for Bombur, and by extension you, yet?"

"You always expect the worst from me, Poppy. This wounds me deeply!" His hat shifting back on his head, he melodramatically made a swooning motion, his hand to his heart. She and the others chuckled at his antics.

Taking on a dramatic tone herself, she replied, "And I daresay you will forgive me, given that I have indeed brought something." Lifting up her bag for them to see, she reached in and produced a red apple, holding it up to Bifur beside her. A cheer arose, causing her face to redden slightly.

Walking between the two columns of ponies, she held up an apple to each of her companions, receiving a variety of thanks. Taking a visible breath, she trekked the few extra feet that separated Thorin and Gandalf from the group. Gandalf took his snack with a warm smile. She had no idea what Thorin took it with, because as she held the fruit aloft, she refused to look at him. There was a long pause as the tension rose to a painful point of palpability. Eventually, she felt fingers brush against hers and the weight of the apple disappeared.

"Thank you." His deep voice was as quiet as hers usually. She gave a short nod of acknowledgement before turning and returning to her place in the back. As she left, she did not notice the almost parental look of pride that Gandalf sent the dwarf king. Noticing and attempting not to feel too patronized, the dwarf glared back.

There was silence aside from the munching of apples for a long moment, until Minty nickered in protest, lipping at Poppy's pack for an apple of her own. Smile breaking over her face, the hobbit reached in and gave the pushy pony what she wanted. "All you had to do was ask, sweetheart."

At her words, Kili's face took on a bright smile, "Well, that's nicely simple." He reached down to grab another apple for himself, attempting to take the term of endearment as well. His hand was smacked for his trouble, a stiff look on Poppy's face that made both he and Fili laugh. Holding both hands up in surrender, the darker one pouted, "You're so very mean to me, Poppy."

Grinning as she continued even further back, she shrugged, "Only because you deserve it, my _lovely_ Kili."

As was also starting to be expected, Ori was behind her, Bella nosing around for a treat, before anyone could say another word and Kili could make an acceptable comeback. Excitedly handing her his notebook, he exclaimed, "Look at the birds I observed this morning. Do you know any of them? I think I know these two, but could you confirm them for me?"

Unable to not smile at his enthusiasm, Poppy took the small book and looked over his meticulous notes and not quite so meticulous drawings. She often had some trouble deciphering his handwriting given his letters all took on a runic tilt. Everything was more angled and geometric. At some point, she was going to have to have him teach her their letters so he could just write normally. She felt bad for making him change his ways merely to suit her.

Naming his findings for him, Poppy handed his notebook back after a mile or so with a smile. At that point, she would normally retreat back from the road and hide until they camped for the night, perhaps coming back a time or two in between. It was not terribly long after noon and she found it easier to walk in the relative shade than try and keep up with the ponies the entire day in the sun.

However, that day there was an odd expression on the scholar's face beside her. Instead of scribbling more notes upon receiving it back, he actually filed it away, looking down at her with a hesitant gaze. Pausing, wondering what was on his mind, she plodded along with them amongst the chatter. Bilbo was talking to Balin, Bofur with Bombur and Dwalin, and Fili and Kili joking to themselves. His rather high voice cutting through it all, Ori asked when he noticed her stare, "Poppy, can I go with you?"

A few of the ponies stopped dead at the surprise of their riders. Frowning, the woman searched for clarification, "You want to walk with me?"

Nodding hurriedly and earnestly, he continued, "Yes! I'll learn so much more going with you than being stuck on this pony the whole way. Who knows when I'll ever be in this wilderness again? I might as well learn everything I can now."

Sensing that it had taken a good deal of courage for him to suggest it right out in front of everyone given his generally shy nature, Poppy smiled warmly up at him, "Of course. Let's go. You'll have to be _quiet_ though. We can't go stomping about like dwarves…"

Raising an eyebrow, Fili grinned down at her, "Ha ha, Poppy. Ha ha." Her smile was bright when she glanced over at him, a sparkle in her eyse that he hadn't realized was only ever truly turned toward him.

Soaking in her every word, Ori scrambled down from Bella and went to hand his reins to Nori beside him. She wasn't sure she'd ever seen him quite _that_ excited. Already having ducked under Moira's neck and sending a parting smile up at Bifur she was caught off-guard by the high, rising tone of Dori behind them, "Wait! Wait, wait! Ori, what are you thinking? You can't just go tramping off through the wilderness!"

Groaning, his voice almost whining, Ori protested, "But, Dori!" The two quite suddenly struck her as an overprotective mother and a put out child. "She does it every day! Nobody keeps Poppy from going."

"Well, yes, but…" The dwarf looked suspiciously at the underbrush, as if not trusting the very trees not to snatch up his scholar of a brother at the first available chance. "But what if you get lost?"

"_DORI_!" the younger brother protested, face having fallen to the complete opposite of what it had been a few moments before. "When has Poppy ever gotten lost?"

Quietly and hesitantly entering the argument, the hobbit offered, "I'm never more than a mile from you. I keep you in sight all day."

Letting out a long, deep sigh, Dori turned and fixed a stern yet almost pleading eye on her. Nodding toward the staff across her back, he queried, "Do you know how to use that?"

Bombur let out a bark of laughter at the question. Blushing at that memory and reaching back, she took the staff in her hand, if only to ease Dori's nerves a bit. Though she knew it wouldn't make him feel any better, she told the truth, "More or less. It's kept me safe for a long time."

Both she and Ori could see the no on his lips before Nori gently and silently nudged his older brother with his elbow. Shrugging slightly, he nodded toward them as if to say 'what could it hurt?' Shoulders deflating a bit, a smile slowly broke across the face of the eldest. "Fine, go have fun. Find your birds." Ori did a little happy leap in the air and proceeded to spin in excitement to the amusement of all. "Poppy," Dori continued, waiting until he had her full attention to finish, "do take care of him. He…He's my baby brother and if something happened…"

Smiling comfortingly, she gave a nod before turning and bounding to catch up to Ori who had already made like a hare for the trees. As Dori sighed heavily again, Nori reached out and squeezed his shoulder. Silence held for a few moments until chatter slowly rose back up, lead mostly by Bofur then Fili and Kili. Bilbo remained uncharacteristically quiet, staring back at the spot where the dwarf and his cousin had disappeared from view.

Frowning, Balin asked softly, "What's the matter, lad? I'm sure they'll both be just fine. Your cousin seems more comfortable out here than we are."

Shaking his head, the hobbit said, "No, it's not that. It's just…Twenty years ago, that was us, begging one of our mothers to go out and explore the world, both of us too excited for our own good, me not in the least bit scared because I knew if something went wrong Poppy would get me out of it, and she probably thought the exact same thing. Twenty years ago, that was _me._"

Smiling, the older dwarf offered, "And now look. Instead of running into the trees, you've run off on a right proper adventure with her." Though the feeling of nostalgia still pulled at his chest, Bilbo had to return a small smile at that.

* * *

"Poppy," Ori asked hesitantly while looking about at the plant life around him a few hours of traveling with her later, "why did you come on the quest with us?" The question had been bothering him for a while, yet he hadn't had the gumption to ask. Without the others about to perhaps make fun of him and his likely silly thoughts, he felt better about the asking. The hobbit had always been kind to him and he was curious.

Her answer was immediate, "To be with Bilbo. I couldn't let him go off on an adventure all alone." Turning the tables, she smiled over at him, "What about you? How did you convince Dori to let you come along?"

Laughing, thinking fondly of his overprotective brother, he replied, "I think he was too scared to leave me alone, truth be told. He's funny like that."

He missed the sadness in her tone when she offered, "He just loves you."

"I suppose… What's this? And this? Can you eat it?"

Smiling gently at Ori's enthusiasm, vaguely wondering if that was the same exuberance Gandalf had loved in her so long ago, Poppy answered calmly, "That is a yellow iris, that a white forest mushroom, and no, unless you enjoy incredibly sour food I wouldn't eat it."

As he began writing with incredible haste, his letters reverting to his native Cirth, she glanced forward between the trees. While she didn't want to cut Ori's exploring short, they needed to hurry their pace. She could only barely see the tip of Bifur's glaive over the next hill in the distance. They were falling too far behind.

Gently taking his arm, she prodded, "We need to get moving or we'll never be on time for dinner."

"All right, just one moment," he muttered, putting the finishing touches on a drawing. Closing his book, he looked at her with smiling eyes, waiting for her to lead.

Her staff in hand, Poppy began a slow jog through the brush, jumping lightly over logs and around bushes with little trace of her having been there. Ori was a different story, his boots leaving deep marks and his breathing spreading loudly through the trees. She had to smile. Dwarves were a great many great things, loyal, merry, and incredible warriors just to name a few. Stealthy, however, they were not.

The group was more easily within range, likely a bit over three-quarters of a mile when she slowed down again, Ori puffing behind her. Seeing an animal path, likely leading to water, she smiled, "We're close enough. We can rest for a bit." Noticing his hand twitch and begin to go for his pocket, she laughed, "You can observe to your heart's content for a few minutes. There should be a stream, too."

Grinning widely at his new friend, Ori yanked out his book and pencil. His nose was buried in it within seconds.

Needing to refill her water skein and hoping that the stream would be shallow and gentle, Poppy left him in the small glade, intending to only be gone for a few moments. Cancelling out any worry she had, he slowly followed her without looking up. Brushing her long hair back behind her ears, the hobbit knelt beside the comfortingly small waterway she found. It was more of a trickle than an actual stream, likely the small, rainstorm produced offshoot of a larger creek. It was not until her small task was done and she slowly pushed herself up that she noticed it, the almost imperceptible tingle along her spine.

The trees and bushes were quiet. There was nary a sound but for the trickle of water and Ori's almost silent murmuring over his words. She hadn't noticed it before, too distracted to have kept a better watch. Knowing that complete silence was not a positive sign in nature, she began to search the opposite bank with her eyes. Perhaps she'd just been away for too long, but something felt…wrong.

Her instincts proved still spot on a moment later, the source of the tingle emerging swiftly and silently from the bushes in front of her. Its hackles were puffed, not quite raised, and its ears were in limbo, as if unsure whether to be aggressive yet. She fought the reaction to turn and run as fast as her short legs and big feet would carry her with all her might as she felt all blood drain from her face.

Subtly and slowly, she took her staff in both hands and raised it before her, eyes never leaving those menacing yellow ones staring back at her. Keeping her voice the low and calm one she often used around animals, she called, "Ori. Ori, stay where you are."

"Why?" Frowning, the dwarf looked up at her from his notebook as he emerged from the bushes, intending to fill his own water skein. "What's the…_oh my_!"

The slight squeal in his voice caught the attention of the warg standing before Poppy, and its ears immediately went back, its front knees bending in preparation to leap. At the sight of him and a quick smell of the air, the menacing creature pulled its lips back over its incredibly long teeth.

Shifting over so that she was squarely between the predator and Ori, Poppy's heart had already made its decision, her brain left with nothing to do but observe the situation as the very idea of fear was buried under the extreme need to protect her friend.

In the very back of her mind, she vaguely wondered if this was when her heart making these types of decisions for her was going to get her into trouble like she'd always suspected.

Thoughts incredibly far away, however, with her voice still calm, she said gently, "Ori, go. Back away slowly and then run. Get the others." She heard a slight sound of fear escape his throat and she couldn't blame him. The warg before her was easily once and a half her height at the shoulder and its teeth the length of her fingers and undoubtedly thicker. Wolves she'd met before, but never a warg and had she been of a sane, sound mind she knew she should've been terrified.

For a long moment, everything seemed to pause about her. Ori had yet to move, the warg had yet to react it, and she had yet to react to the warg. In that space of a breath, she took a good look at the warg. She knew from stories from her childhood and the dwarves that where there were wargs, orcs were usually not far behind. This time, she wasn't so sure. The incredible predator had scars from claw marks, one marring the right side of its face, but she could see no scars or wear from a saddle or whips.

Amongst the stillness, she suddenly noticed the creature shift its weight to its hind legs, coiled to spring. Breaking the silence, she repeated with a calm that even her muffled brain marveled at, "Run, Ori. Don't back away, don't walk, _run_."

Before the dwarf had the slightest chance to reply or protest, she had swung her staff into the warg's snout with every bit of strength she possessed. She heard the faint crack of a tooth and could see the angry rumble of a growl in its throat. Not hearing any footsteps as the warg snarled viciously at her, taking a swift snap at her arm, which she barely parried with another blow to its nose, she yelled more urgently with an audible element of pleading, "_RUN!_"

Not needing to be told again, Ori sprinted out of the underbrush, his feet pounding into the ground faster than they ever had before. He could just barely see the company in front of him, almost a mile off. Hearing the sound of another snarl coming from the trees and a subsequent grunt of pain, he ran faster.

He had to get to them to save Poppy. He just had to run. _All _he had to do was run. For once in his life, someone in the world needed him; Poppy _needed_ him to get the others.

Mahal strike him from the earth if he failed.

* * *

A/N: Well, look at me with my first cliff-hanger. :) So, hello everyone. I do hope you're enjoying everything. This chapter was a bit slow on the uptake, but this is what came out. There's not a whole lot of Fili/Poppy, but as you could tell she's rather busy at the moment. Thanks so much for all your reviews. They truly make my day. So, thanks for reading, review if the desire takes you, and I hope you enjoyed. :) See you Wednesday.


	15. The Warg

"_RUN!"_

Though animals liked her on the whole far more than most people, Poppy had just guaranteed that there would be no coaxing the creature before her down. It had been too fixated on Ori for her to even try and now she'd struck it. No, they would not be friends with her patting its head by the end of the encounter, though she was unsure if such a thing was possible with wargs, even for her.

Snarling in frustration, the warg corrected itself from the hobbit's blow with a shake of the head as Ori ran crashing through the underbrush. Half its prey gone—the _larger_ half—the animal turned to the miniscule figure before it, the staff again whirling through the air to hit it harshly in the eye. The immense canine swung out blindly with a paw, a yelp of pain escaping its mouth.

Poppy threw herself to the ground and rolled, narrowly avoiding the claws aimed for her head. With an increasingly angry growl, the warg began to pace in front of her, blood dripping from a gash above its eye, as if affronted by her insistence to not die quickly and easily. Somehow, either with great bravery or great stupidity, she managed to keep any rising panic squashed down beneath her feet as its eyes met hers.

As they continued their dance, the warg snapped forward with its jaws, attempting to take her off-guard. The hobbit managed to swing her staff with enough speed and strength to block it with a harsh crack to the nose each time.

In the time she had between attacks, she quickly readjusted her grip on her staff, knowing with all her being that it was the only thing standing and swinging between her and an incredibly unpleasant and teeth-filled death. Taking slow steps, she backed down the stream, trying to find a tree close enough for her to climb.

The warg had other ideas. Having enough of patience, it let out a loud howl of a victorious hunter and leaped forward, teeth bared and claws ready. Unable to stop the scream that escaped her, Poppy hastily leaped forward herself. She rolled headlong through the water, ending up where the warg had begun, trying to shake off her dizziness and disorientation as the warg flew above her. Rounding with a speed she hadn't thought possible for so large a creature, her foe had corrected itself in a second.

Still stuck on her back, she swatted with her staff, only barely staving off bites from removing her head. With growing horror, she felt blood beginning to course down her arms and splash onto her face as she fought for her life, her staff keeping her head on but the warg's teeth and claws getting through to tear at her arms and sides.

Panting in exhaustion as the short, strenuous fight for her life already began to take its toll, she kicked out with her leg in a fit of desperation. The warg reared up its head at the hit to its throat and she quickly followed with a heavy blow to its front leg with her staff and then forced it up to hit the beast's throat again. Scrambling back as the animal hacked for breath in pain and lifted its injured paw from the ground, she found her feet again.

Though the only thing in her head was the pounding of blood in her ears, she began to hear the screaming of terror begin to push through from the background.

Shaking her head once, clearing out such distracting thoughts, she readied to face the warg again. While the animal had never looked especially friendly, there was now carnal murder in its eyes. It was in pain, bleeding, having trouble breathing, and there was no way it was allowing its prey to hurt it again. The time for toying with its dinner was over.

A breathy snarl ripping from its throat, the warg went in again, appearing to be going for her chest with its jaws. Ignoring the pain in her arms as cuts were stretched, Poppy took her staff in both hands swung it twice above her head before bringing it to the side of the warg's jaw with all her waning strength. A loud, earsplitting crack resounded through her upon contact and for a hair's breadth of a second, she was unsure what had broken: her arm, her staff, or the warg's jaw.

Then with multiple fractured teeth, the warg paused, stunned for an instant, pain coursing through it and blood pouring from its mouth. That was not the particular taste of blood it wanted at that moment. Continuing through the motion it had originally planned with a reverberating snarl, its left front paw swatted before it, taking the hobbit by the hip and propelling her through the air and to the ground with a scream of pain and surprise.

Its growl being made no less terrifying by its wheezing, the warg limped over to its prey and stood above her, bleeding lips curled back over its teeth. With trembling hands, she weakly raised her staff above her as a final bastion of defense. Finally, the screaming of her terror blasted through the barrier of calm Poppy had built so strongly. Lying there, frozen with fear as drops of its blood rained onto her face, she stared up into the giant yellow eyes above her.

* * *

"Now, was that really so bad?"

Glaring over at the wizard with a withering look that had brought many a dwarf to his knees, Thorin shuddered in frustration. The old man continued to sit there on his horse, an annoyingly level look on his face as he patronized the king about the hobbit girl's earlier gift. "I never said I didn't like the girl. I just don't want her here."

"Your attitude toward her thus far says otherwise for anyone looking on." Pulling his uneaten apple out of a pocket of his robes, Gandalf finally took a bite of the snack she had brought. "Female or not, Thorin Oakenshield, she possesses many a quality that you and your kin consider the highest of traits."

Irritation running through him, wishing for the millionth time that the blasted girl would just go home like a normal woman would already, he bit out in anger, "She's got the qualities of a stray dog, Gandalf. Too stupid to leave when the master tells her to go."

Raising an eyebrow, the wizard replied, "What on earth makes you think that _you_ are her master in that analogy?" The dwarf paused at that, unconsciously glancing back at Bilbo riding beside his nephews and Balin. "Yes," Gandalf continued, "Bilbo is who she follows, not you, and I would have expected you to see the loyalty behind her actions long ago." Taking on a smile, allowing the danger to leave his tone, he pressed on jovially, "All in all, I do believe Anna would enjoy your comparison. She's very fond of dogs and had two as a child."

"_Why_ do you call her that?" Thorin queried, disliking the conversation monumentally. Yes, the way he treated the girl made him feel like a colossal…_arse_ sometimes. However, he was doing it for her own good. With her bouncing curls, big feet, and little stick she would not make it to the Lonely Mountain unscathed or even alive he suspected. Why did Gandalf insist on making him feel guilty for his actions?

Though it looked as if the wizard had no inclination of answering, he would not have had the chance anyway.

Puffing greatly, his braids and overly long knitted sleeves flapping behind him, Ori sprinted up to the group, words attempting to come out but his lack of breath preventing them. Upon seeing they had stopped the poor dwarf came to a skidding halt, his hands on his knees as he coughed to regain the ability to breathe.

Dori was down from his pony and at his younger brother's side in a moment, checking for injuries and cursing the girl he'd left to take care of him, "That blasted hobbit, where is she?! Has she run off and left you? Oh by Mahal, I swear she'll get a piece of my mind!"

Nearly half the company including Bilbo, Bofur, Bombur, Kili, Bifur, and an especially stony Fili all sucked in a stiff inhale, quite ready to give _him_ their own thoughts, but Ori beat them to it. Chest still heaving, he stood straight up, anguish covering his face, "NO! No, we have to help her. There-There's a _WARG_! She's fighting it."

Everyone froze for a moment, unable to comprehend the words coming out of his mouth. Eyes widening, Ori demanded, "We _have_ to help her! NOW!"

Grabbing Bella's reins, he pulled himself up into the saddle and urged the steed to the fastest she could go. Immediately shaking out of their shock, the company followed him with all weapons out, the situation too dire to appreciate the irony that Ori was the one leading them into battle.

Before they had gone far, Thorin came to and began shouting orders in the commanding way he had, "Ori, you stay here! Dori and Nori, stay with him. It won't be hard to hear a warg fight to find her." Even as he said it a loud, vicious howl rose to the air, making hair stand up on the back of many necks. "Bombur and Oin, watch the hobbit. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. The rest of you with me!"

Ori and Bilbo's ponies both had to be physically held back, the two enraged at not being allowed to go on. As he and Gandalf rode forth, he noticed Oin had to tackle Bilbo to the ground to keep him from going forward on foot. An almost feral growl escaped the hobbit as he shouted, "Let go of me, you great bearded oaf!"

The king's final order proved rather superfluous as he and Gandalf found themselves at the back of the racing line of ponies, Bifur in the lead, his nephews not even a foot behind.

Neighing and nickering angrily as they were harshly pulled to a halt at the edge of the tree line, the ponies were left behind in moments, the group tramping hastily through the trees. A scream of pain following an incredibly harsh snarl spurred them on even more.

Kili only a step behind them, Bifur and Fili lead the charge, both with exponentially worsening visions in their minds the longer they took. The underbrush was not thick, just uneven, though in their panic it was the most treacherous grouping of trees they had ever come across.

A great many thoughts were running through Fili's mind in those moments, though afterward he would be unable to recall anything but the pure unadultered fear that had chilled his very blood. All but that fear was bashed unceremoniously from his mind when the trees faded out to reveal a tiny stream, a gigantic warg standing in it above a small figure with a staff held in trembling hands.

The first to see it, he and Bifur exchanged an almost infinitesimally short glance, both coming to the exact same conclusion without having to say a word in any language. Bifur hefted his glaive into his right hand and Fili tightened his grip on his left sword, spinning it in his palm to get it at the proper angle.

At their appearance, the beast raised its head for a second, a snarl escaping over its bloody teeth, one of its eyes swelled too shut to narrow at them. It turned away quickly, as if deciding to bother with them after his current prey was dealt with. Taking advantage of the distraction, the blood-covered Poppy swung her staff up again, wounding its eye further. Roaring in pain, the warg snarled once more, pressing its bad paw onto her chest in preparation to lean down and finish the whole ordeal.

Simultaneously, before the warg had the chance to move another lanky, horrible muscle, Bifur and Fili hurled their weapons at the creature with deadly accuracy. Not a second after, an arrow shot past their heads. With fleshy thunks upon contact, all three projectiles found their marks, burying themselves deeply in the warg's throat and ribcage.

With a bellow as grim and final as a death knell, the warg teetered for a moment, a dying sneer on its face that was mere inches from Poppy's. A final smack from her staff sent it falling to the ground, a pitiful whine escaping with its last breath.

The whole world seemed to go silent for a moment. No birds sang. No animals disturbed the grass or leaves. Not even the flowing water seemed to want to make itself known. That moment was cut incredibly short when the hobbit lying in the stream before them let out a soft groan.

"Ow."

Not having the desire or presence of mind to absorb what had just happened, Poppy let her staff fall gently into the water beside her. Closing her eyes, she attempted to calm herself. She'd managed to keep an almost insane amount of calm during her fight with a _warg_; she ought to be able to keep hysteria from rising now that it was dead and she was safe.

The way her heart refused to slow down and the blood in her ears continued to drown out all sound told her otherwise. The rising discontent of her stomach did not help, either.

The fear-fueled churning in her belly was not to be ignored. Rolling over and pushing herself up onto her knees, she promptly threw up onto the stream bank, heaving miserably when everything was gone but her stomach still revolted. When it was too exhausted to continue, she sat back on her calves and closed her eyes.

Unable to hear them splashing through the water to get to her or hearing her name called, Poppy flinched in surprise when she felt two hands on her shoulders. Eyes snapping open and looking up, as if expecting to see a warg above her, she first saw an axe blade. Bringing her eyes down a bit more, she took in two pairs of concerned eyes, one green and one hazel.

"Poppy…?" As it had come to over the past days, Fili's voice awakened something in her brain.

The calm she'd been scraping to get back immediately returned, washing over her completely like a summer breeze. Pushing her soaking locks back behind her shoulders, she gave her two saviors a smile. She was all right. A similar one grew on Fili's face as he tenderly squeezed her shoulder, running his thumb over the wet fabric of her shirt.

She intended to bring her hand up and squeeze his arm back, perhaps even fall into his arms and just hug him and sob as a large part of her wanted to, but soon found herself unable.

Ignoring the younger dwarf next to him as such pure and all-consuming relief filled him, Bifur grabbed the girl up in a hug, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulling her into his chest. A watery giggle escaping her, Poppy returned the gesture, resting her cheek on his cloth and leather armor. It wasn't from Fili, but she had _needed_ that hug.

From behind them, she heard Kili's slightly awed voice exclaim the same curse she'd heard from Fili a week before, "_Mahalu-me turg_! Look at its face. I've seen steak that looks less tenderized."

"Aye," Gloin agreed. "It's got teeth missing, too. I doubt it could see by the end, either." The older warrior kicked the dead beast in the ribs after ripping Bifur's glaive and Fili's sword from its flesh, wiping both off on its pelt and handing them back to their owners.

Smiling in the way he had that immediately made any situation seem far less serious than it was, Bofur winked at her, "Maybe you didn't need us after all, lass. A few more minutes and you would've shown it who the meal was. Are you all right, though?"

She nodded, her smile enduring. Alive and all right were synonymous to her at that moment.

Sucking in a breath, seeing the large red spot beginning to seep through the bottom of her shirt, Balin asked, "Are you sure? That's a lot of blood, lass."

Looking down, she noticed it was true. Her calm and fear had overridden her pain and the water had disguised the feeling of too much flowing blood. Everything seemed so odd as she remembered it, as if it had been in a haze. Sighing as she noticed the sting of her arms and sides, she gently pulled out of Bifur's hold and slipped off her pack. He and Fili helped her to stand again.

"Most is the warg's, I think," she replied softly, pushing her sleeves up. Her arms had been riddled with scratches, many overlapping in jumbles, but none were too deep. Most were bleeding only slightly, seeping more than anything. She could feel that her sides, especially her right hip, were another story. On the ground she hadn't noticed as much, but standing she could feel the pain shooting through the joint, protesting to the weight placed upon it.

Pulling up her once green shirt to reveal the wound, she flinched at the intake of breath she heard. That time, the warg had gotten her. Its claws had torn through skin, revealing a tiny sliver of hipbone at one point. Suddenly feeling incredibly woozy, the sight of her own bone visible to the light not aiding her already unstable stomach, she felt herself waver dangerously.

"Poppy!" Reaching out, Fili quickly grasped her upper arm to steady her. Balance visibly spinning as she closed her eyes and clutched at him, he moved to stand behind her, pulling her back into his chest and wrapping a warm, sturdy arm around her shoulders. She gave out an almost audible breath of relief as she relaxed against him.

Striding forward with a comforting smile, Gandalf knelt before her when she had blinked her eyes open once again, "I might be able to help with that, little Anna. If you could remove your shirt for me."

Knowing it needed to be changed anyway—it was not ruined and soaked in blood—Poppy gave a nod. Fili still supporting her, she reached down and pulled the ruined garment over her head, revealing a dark gray bodice beneath that had escaped unscathed. Blushing slightly at how they all stared at her, even if the only thing they could see were her shoulders and a small width of her stomach, she quickly took the shirt that Bifur had grabbed from her pack. She nodded to Gandalf, indicating he could continue.

In a low voice, he spoke some Elvish words she vaguely recognized but did not understand before waving a hand over the wound. When he pulled away, the scratches were still there, though they were already on the way to being healed up, the skin having come together and closed in scabs.

Standing again after handing her a wet cloth once her new blue shirt was on, he said with a note of apology, "I have never been the most adept healer, my dear." Her smile of thanks as she scrubbed the blood from her face and neck quite profoundly told him she did not mind. Clearing his throat, as if attempting to also clear away the worry, the wizard continued, "Anna, you are indeed full of surprises, though I wouldn't be putting too much weight on that leg yet. I suggest we return to the others now."

"_Wait_."

Every pair of eyes turned back to where the oddly silent king was kneeling in front of the dead warg except for Poppy. She clutched at the arm Fili had put back around her, wishing that just for once his uncle would leave her alone. She did not want to face him right after facing down a warg. Somehow, he would find a way to turn her actions about on her. As she felt Fili's head turn and bend down to look at her, she closed her eyes, attempting to get some sort of strength from how he had yet to let go of her.

She had yet to open her eyes when Thorin strode about to stand in front of her, his presence palpable without needing to see it. "Look at me, girl."

Feeling a tremor run through her, Fili watched as with great effort she opened her eyes and fixed his uncle with a gaze that he would not have wanted to be on the receiving end of. Her trembling clearly said she was scared, but that truth was _not_ in those blue eyes. Though he had known from an early age that his uncle had the ability to be one of the most intimidating people to walk the earth, Fili was honestly unsure how the following conversation would end.

The king shaking with what she could only assume was rage, Poppy fought the urge to shrink back even further into Fili's embrace. Meeting the dwarf's harsh blue eyes, she held them by sheer willpower.

He bit out his words when he questioned severely, doing his best to keep any shred of worry hidden beneath anger, "You decided to take on a wild warg with a stick?! What was going through that-that _empty_ head of yours? What were you _thinking_?!"

Voice surprisingly put-together, she replied softly with the truth, "I didn't think."

"_That_ is quite obvious. Why, in the name of Durin, would you do something so stupid?!"

Her simple and so very sincere words stilled his anger and the other's awkward, shuffling movements about them. "Because it was Ori or me, and Dori told me to take care of him. I didn't have to think. My heart knew to protect him, so I did."

Mouthing gaping slightly at the depth of loyalty that he had never expected to see in one not his own kin, Thorin had to take a moment to collect himself. He wondered if she realized the weight of what she had just said. Letting out a reluctant sigh, he made the decision to suffer silently through her presence for the rest of the day. The girl had just fought a warg for the sake of one of his kin; she deserved that much.

"Let's get back to the others so we're together if there are more about. You too, girl. I don't need our burglar running off to save you if more wargs are lurking about before you go home…tomorrow." Turning without another word or glance, Thorin walked away from her and the others, trusting them to follow.

Clearly shocked at how that interlude had concluded, Poppy stared after him with intense bewilderment.

Managing to smile a little as his uncle and most of the others left the stream and the dead warg behind, he peered about to see the hobbit's face, her fingers still clutching tightly to his arm. "I think you just escaped being told to leave tonight."

Still clearly confused, she turned to look at him and whispered, her blue eyes wide and incredibly close to his as their noses brushed, "Is _that_ what that meant?"

Chuckling despite the way something in his chest caught at her proximity, Fili nodded, "Aye. Now come on."

Sheathing the sword Gloin had returned to him back behind his shoulder, he shifted his arm and had swung her up into his arms before she could protest with more than a surprised squeak. As her mouth began to open slightly, he cut her off with a warm grin, "Don't even start, Poppy. Gandalf said not too much weight. And, don't you dare try and say I'm calling you fat because no weight is better than whatever miniscule amount you possess. Bofur and Bifur have your things and Kili will just catch you and pick you up again if you struggle." The three dwarves in question all gave nods of agreement when she glanced back toward them, searching for aid.

As she was carried through the underbrush, Fili's arms beneath her knees and around her back, his right hand wrapping around to rest on her stomach, she could think of absolutely no logical objection to it. Of course, the way her heartbeat sped up and her previously mutinous stomach had warmed didn't contribute anything to an argument, either. Letting out a sigh, the knowledge that she had just survived an encounter with a warg fully sinking in, she just wound her arm around his neck and laid her head against the fur on his shoulder with a soft, "Thank you, Fili."

She couldn't see the wide, relieved smile that broke across his face, only feel the way he subtly rested his chin on her curls.

* * *

"But where are they? They should've come back by now. What if something's gone wrong?"

Pacing anxiously, not having remounted Myrtle after being physically tackled to the ground by Oin, Bilbo gazed angrily behind them in search of some sign of movement. Ori was right before him, sitting on the ground, his expression caught between worry and extreme guilt. Dori had given up trying to comfort him, his little brother unresponsive except for the occasional nod.

"It'll be all right, lad," Oin offered from where he was gathering some herbs from his pack, his tone far gentler than the hobbit had ever heard before. "We haven't heard any howls in a while and one mangy warg couldn't stand a chance against so many of us. It'll be fine."

The sincere belief in the older dwarf's voice helped some, causing Bilbo's pacing to slow. From the ground, voice very clearly shaky, Ori whispered, "What if it isn't? What if I got her killed? What if she dies trying to protect me?"

Feeling a sudden rush of camaraderie in worry with the younger dwarf, Bilbo sunk to the ground beside him. Sighing, he provided, "'What if' is a scary phrase, often deceptive I've found." Ori merely let out a similar sigh and they all fell silent.

Both perked up at the exact same time when hoof beats could be heard trampling over grass. Gandalf's horse in the lead, they scrambled to their feet as the group returned. Their eyes searched the ponies quickly and impatiently for sight of the companion they most wanted to see at that moment.

Sitting before Fili on a rather happy looking Moira, Poppy appeared tired but in one piece when she smiled at the two of them. As soon as the little herd of ponies had come to a stop, they were both up and right beside her. Heart beating erratically with relief and emotion, Bilbo asked quickly, "Are you hurt?"

Putting on a smile, she shook her head, "No, I'm fine." What they didn't now wouldn't guilt them, though she could feel the accusing eyes of the others.

"Good." Reaching up, Bilbo grabbed his cousin's arm and pulled her down into his arms with a surprised screech, enveloping her in a hug that poured every single drop of happiness that she was alive into it. Though in no tiny amount of pain, Poppy had to laugh, hugging him back. Bilbo didn't release her until his heart rate had returned to normal and all threatening tears had been buried. Squeezing one final time, he whispered, "I love you, Poppy."

"I love you, too."

When her cousin had pulled away, clearing his throat in an attempt to not show how very choked up he was, Ori was before her, awkwardly pulling at his sleeves. Smiling brightly through the stiffness of her hip and stinging of her arms, Poppy decided to be the brave one. Stepping forward, she hugged the dwarf who so clearly had been agonizing over her safety, "Thank you, Ori. You saved me."

It taking a minute, everything poured out of him as he returned the gesture, "I was so scared and you were so small and it was so big and I ran so fast and I was so scared you would die!" He let out a whoosh of an exhale when he'd finished. Had his emotions not been so raw, Poppy would have found it amusing.

Smiling, she comforted him with a quiet, "I'm perfectly fine thanks to you. And look, you can add wargs to your notes. You've seen one in person now."

The thought of furthering his knowledge a safe and comforting one, he nodded, "Yes, I can, can't I." When Thorin barked out that they needed to move on, the scholar dwarf already had his notebook out, pencil in hand.

Bilbo pulled Poppy toward Myrtle and helped her up into the saddle without saying a word, though his face held no room for protest as he got up in front of her. No matter how silly, he needed to know she was safe and with him. Rather touched by his protectiveness, Poppy followed without a word, merely sending an apologetic glance back at Fili. His grin said he did not mind and found her cousin's actions a bit amusing, too.

As they started off to continue for a few more hours until darkness, Ori and Bella came right up beside Bilbo, the scholar filled with questions. Much to her surprise, Poppy did not mind answering the questions he had about the warg and its features and whatnot. Oddly enough, talking about what had just happened was a bit soothing.

* * *

When Poppy awoke in the middle of the night to Fili's voice as he took watch, she had not truly been asleep. That evening, that whole day, had been an adventure if she'd ever had one and her whirling mind had not been ready to calm down yet. With Bifur beside her, her staff again by her side, she'd dozed rather fitfully.

Rubbing her eyes after Balin had climbed under his blankets, she pushed herself up, cringing slightly at her hip. Gandalf's aid had done wonders and she would be in far worse shape without it, but the wound was not yet healed completely. She'd be feeling it as she walked for a while, though the miles would likely help her ward off stiffness.

As they had made it a daily occurrence, Fili did not jump in surprise when she approached and sat beside him. They were silent for a long time, the crackle of the fire adding some noise to the night. Without a sound, she slowly leaned over, placing her head on his shoulder. Glancing down with a bit of surprise, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, the action feeling incredibly and undeniably right.

Finally breaking the stillness, he commented, "Dori and Nori are going to be your friends forever now, I hope you know. They'll feel indebted to you forever for protecting Ori. So will Ori."

He smiled when thinking back to what the three brothers had done that evening at dinner. While she had taken up her usual place on the edge of camp with Bifur and the ponies that evening, they had come over when Bombur had declared dinner ready, Dori bringing her bowl with him. They had sat beside her, making conversation over their meal with her for the first time, asking after her life and likes, her personality. While she had blushed at the attention, she'd quietly answered all their questions, though Fili could tell she'd been subtly evasive at times. The usually stoic Nori had even taken a turn at telling a story of the three of them when even Dori had been young.

Smiling as well, she nodded, "I had noticed. I'm happy to call them friends, though. I have tended to have trouble making any in the last few decades."

"You're certainly not having any trouble with us."

She smiled up at him, laughing lightly, but he could tell something was coming. It was all about to hit her. While she was not the average hobbit who had never encountered more danger than perhaps chopping wood, she was no warrior, either. He doubted she had ever looked so directly at her own mortality before; he certainly hadn't and the day's events had been sobering. He didn't think he had _ever_ been that scared before. He and Kili had gotten into plenty of trouble and had been rather accident-prone, but they had never been in any serious danger of dying.

Breathing becoming shallow, she felt the tears start to build up and knew they wouldn't stay restrained for long. Lip quivering, she asked shakily with a failing smile, "Fili…would you be terribly upset if I began sobbing all over you?"

Smiling back, he shook his head, "I'd be honored that you chose me."

Her smile held for a few more moments of holding his gaze before a heavy sob broke out of her throat, quickly followed by another. As Fili wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him, she clutched at his shirt, burying her face into his chest. Her tears quieted by his armor, the dwarf allowed her to cry away her pain in silence.

As his hour of watch began to run its course, he didn't move, letting his replacement Bofur sleep on. Glancing back to ensure that the dwarf had not woken, he found Gandalf's eyes upon him. A deep sadness stared back at him, though the wizard gave him an approving nod.

Poppy did not notice the passage of time, only the overwhelming hurricane of grief attempting to drown her that holding onto Fili made easier to bear. He believed her brush with death had shaken her, made her think of her own mortality. While his concern was sincere, his assumption was wrong. Instead of the warg staring at her as she sobbed, clinging to her friend like a life raft, Poppy saw only a pair of loving blue eyes staring at her through her memories.

* * *

A/N: So, here we are! A long chapter as promised to make up for my cliffhanger cruelty. As it were, I'm already late to class, but I wanted to get this up. So, thanks so much for reading, review and send me your thoughts if you could, and I hope you enjoyed! See you all Friday. :)


	16. The Story of the Wizard

Poppy did not remember falling asleep, only the warmth of Fili against her. When she awoke the next morning, she was back in her place, Bifur and Bilbo on either side, the former already awake and watching her with knowing, friendly eyes. Huffing a quiet 'good morning' in Khuzdul, he gave her a questioning nod, as if asking if she were all right.

Groaning slightly at the stiffness she would have to become used to, she gave him a smile. Whatever remaining fear and pain she had, she'd buried in the blonde dwarf's chest the night before. Attempting for the day to be as normal as possible, she stretched after standing and went to saddle the ponies. It wasn't as if anything had really changed. She was still the unwanted follower of the company and, no matter any gratitude Thorin felt for her helping to protect Ori, his silence toward her was likely a truce more than anything. He would still keep pushing and she would still keep walking.

Confirming her presumptions, the dwarf king fixed her with his usual look of resigned irritation when he sat up, a yawn covering his face for a moment before finding her. In an odd sort of way, his consistency was comforting as she fell happily back into her routine. Unable to hide a small smile, she continued her self-imposed work, gaining many a happy nicker for her trouble. Minty in particular was in a loving mood that day and blew happily in the hobbit's face, causing her to giggle.

Her companions had all risen by the time she had finished, returning to her place and gathering up her things, taking her staff when Bifur handed it to her with a nod. Noticing with rising discontent, Bilbo stood when she looked ready to depart, getting the head start that she so often worked to get. "What do you think you're doing?"

Frowning lightly, she gestured forward after pulling her hair out from under her pack, "Going ahead. Why?"

Attempting to ignore how his actions had gotten the attention of all the others, he readied himself for the likely impossible task he was undertaking. Standing firm, crossing his arms across his chest, the hobbit shook his head, "No you're not."

Voice taking on something oddly reminiscent of amusement, she crossed her own arms, copying his posture as she had always done as a child, "_Really_?"

"Yes, really." Bilbo had to summon up a bit more courage before he continued. When it came to being told what to do, his cousin had never been the most…cooperative of beings if her mind was already set upon it. Aunt Belinda had been the only one to never be refused, no matter how quiet the refusal. "You were almost eaten by a warg yesterday, therefore I feel it my obligation as your cousin to make sure you _don't_ have it happen again today."

Smiling widely, surprising him by not resisting more, she stepped forward and kissed him quickly on the cheek, "Thank you, Bilbo." For a second, he believed he'd actually won. "I'll see you later." And that feeling was gone.

Losing the composure he'd worked up, he protested almost petulantly, "But Poppy! Aren't you the least bit scared that another one could be out there? Aren't you scared of what could be in there?"

Taking the biscuit that Dori handed her with a smile, she turned back to her cousin as they continued to provide the breakfast entertainment for the company, "No. I'm not scared of the one kind of surroundings I know. Also, that warg was on its own."

"How do you know?" It was Dwalin's voice instead of Bilbo's that demanded that of her, a skeptical look on his face.

"A pack of wargs would have left far more signs, I would guess. Even out here you could have been able to tell," she provided. "Also, it had been in fights but it didn't have any scars that made it seem like it was owned by orcs. I think it just came up from the south and took up residence as the biggest predator around."

Her observations and the sense behind them seemed to surprise the warrior and his king beside him. Hiding a smirk, Gandalf nonchalantly put on his hat. He had told Thorin she was an incredible forester. Her abilities with a staff he had not known about, but her tracking he did.

"But there might be something else!"

Shifting slightly from foot to foot as she found herself _literally_ the center of attention, she offered quietly to Bilbo, "I'll be fine."

Throwing his hands up in the air, Bilbo exclaimed, "Why must you be as stubborn as-as a _dwarf_!" He immediately colored as everyone stared at him in silence for a second before laughter began.

"Imagine what I'll be like after being with them for _months_." Smiling, she conceded as Bilbo went even redder, "I'll come back every hour all day. How's that?"

Sighing, still looking incredibly displeased, he looked at her, "I'm not going to get any better than that am I." Her smile answered that easily enough. "Oh, very well. I think someone should go with you, though."

Flinching, not even wanting to begin thinking about how much that would displease Thorin, she hastily kissed his cheek again and smiled, "I love you and will see you soon, Bilbo." Bidding the others a good morning and farewell, she scrambled out of camp with rather more speed than she should have, her hip protesting the whole way until she slowed down a quarter of a mile ahead.

Frowning after her, Bilbo groaned, "I do hate it when she does that."

"Is something wrong, Bilbo, buddy?" Kili asked with a grin, coming up beside the hobbit, throwing an arm over his shoulders and watching her leave as he munched on his biscuit.

Glaring up at the dwarf, Bilbo said flatly, "You look _lovely_ this morning, Kili." The others all howled with laughter as the younger dwarf abruptly began choking on his breakfast. Yes, things were indeed back to normal.

* * *

"Where have you been? It's been more than an hour!"

Letting out a great groan as she let her head fall into Moira's neck as she walked beside the pony, Poppy attempted to not be genuinely irritated with her cousin. "I've been walking less than two hundred yards behind you, Bilbo. I've been visible."

"Oh," Bilbo coughed awkwardly, trying not to feel or appear too embarrassed for his overreaction. He suddenly wondered how much irritation at him she had hidden beneath her soft smile when she'd first returned to his home. He'd hardly let her out of his sight to go to the bathroom without having a heart attack, worrying that she was simply a figment of his overly hopeful imagination.

From atop his pony, Fili grinned down at the female hobbit. True to her word, she had returned jogging to the group quite often, four times before noon alone. How Bilbo's overprotectiveness was rubbing at her was kind of amusing. Poppy was always so moderate and understanding, or at least she was able to project both with a flawless image. She was also shy and scared and more and more frequently feisty, but it was comically different to see her genuinely irritated. While he supposed another would see the quality as an imperfection of some kind, he thought it was adorable.

As if feeling him thinking about her, she glanced back over her shoulder at him, the look on her face making him laugh. Pushing her curls behind her ear, her angered face soon melted into a similar smile, her stomach warming, any real irritation gone. Blushing as he continued laughing, she reached back and swatted his leg, as if to tell him to be quiet.

Grinning from his brother's side, Kili declared loudly, "How dare you hit my brother, Poppy!" Taking on a rather pompous heir, he continued, "I'll have you know that I am the only one allowed to do so, and vice versa!"

Smiling more widely up at Fili, she reached out and smacked Kili, too. Mouth opening in aghast horror, Kili stared down at her with disbelief and she only smiled back as their companions chuckled. Quickly reaching down, he grabbed her around the stomach and hauled her up. Squeaking with surprise, she soon found herself off the ground, Kili being perfectly happy to merely ride along with her under one arm. Though, she had to admit it was only slightly uncomfortable. Curse the strength of dwarves! Glaring at Fili who just chuckled from Moira, not moving to help her, she sighed.

"Oh, leave the poor lass be, Kili," Dori chided with a smile.

"I am doing her a favor. I am giving her hip a rest…and teaching her not to swat the dwarves of the line of Durin." From where she hung, Poppy made a face at him he couldn't see.

Coming in at just the right time as always, Bofur suggested, "Why don't you tell us a story, Poppy? It looks like you'll be hanging about with us for a while."

Despite the incredible badness of the joke, she had to smile, "Very well. What kind?" Glancing over at Oin and Gloin, she explained with a note of apology, "Most of my stories involve elves unless you want to hear the incredibly lackluster stories of my childhood, so give me something to work with."

While his brother remained quiet, Oin requested, "Tell us of how you met the wizard. How does a hobbit girl come to know Gandalf the Grey so well?"

Looking back with a warm smile, the wizard provided, "That was a day that even my long memory holds in a special light. Never before had I met one quite like little Anna."

Her voice had softened, though they could all still hear when she replied, "Better that you had remained that way, Gandalf, for the sake of your fireworks."

"I would thank you to let me be the judge of that, my dear." There was a bright twinkle in his eye when he smiled at her, turning back about.

"Were you there, Bilbo?" Kili asked, looking over at the hobbit, jostling the female one much to her annoyance.

Smiling at the picture before him, he nodded, "Yes, though _I_ stayed out of trouble that night."

Seeing the looks exchanged between the two cousins, Bofur grinned, "Oh, this is going to be a good one, isn't it. Carry on, Poppy!"

Sighing again, she began, her voice still soft but her tone obliging, "Well, in a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit and the year of her eighth birthday proved to be one of special magnificence much by accident. The Old Took, our equivalent of nobility I guess, had the adventurous notion on occasion to invite the wandering wizard to the Shire on Midyear's Eve to display his always wonderful fireworks. Prior to her eighth birthday, the girl had never been old enough to remember such an event and, let me tell you, she was frightfully excited."

Snorting, Bilbo added, "That is a gross, _gross_ understatement."

"I was seven years old!" Poppy protested to the amusement of all. "I could change my mind and tell the story of when you attempted to dance with Cerulean Bolger…" Coughing uncomfortably, Bilbo went bright red and motioned with his hand for her to continue, suddenly finding the clouds in the sky very interesting.

"Thank you." Shifting slightly in Kili's grip, she attempted to get more comfortable, "Anyway, Gandalf was the talk of the Shire for months leading up to June, though no one was quite sure when he was going to get there. It was said that the wizard always arrived precisely when he meant to, not always when everyone else expected him to."

"A prerogative I have earned over the centuries, Anna," Gandalf called back lightly.

Smiling fondly forward, she continued, "I had been prepared for days, waiting and hoping he'd come. My…My mother had told me all about him and how wonderful fireworks were. Then, my birthday finally arrived…and the wizard wasn't there. I was incredibly heartbroken and even threw my cake at Bilbo's face in a bit of a tantrum. So, I moped about for the rest of the day, despite Bilbo's many attempts to cheer me up. When evening came, I didn't even want to go to the party the Old Took always held. I always knew that it wasn't _my_ party, but it was always fun to be able to go. It was far bigger than anything my parents could have given me and for a child, it was positively wonderful. So, whining and complaining the entire way, completely missing the reason behind my mother's continuous smile, I was forced to go anyway.'

"And then, when we arrived, who should I see standing there but this gigantic man dressed in grey with the largest hat I had ever seen."

Chuckling, recovering from her prior threat, Bilbo prodded, "Yes, do tell them what you did next."

Glaring at him, she blushed as she explained, "I dropped everything, tripped over one of my own feet, and launched myself at him before even being introduced."

Laughing along with the others, Gandalf smiled, "You do have a way with first impressions, my dear."

"Indeed," she added at her own expense, unable to stay too embarrassed at the pure amusement on her companions' faces. "I followed him around the rest of the night, Bilbo trailing not far behind. Fireworks fascinated me and I kept asking to light one, but the wizard kept saying no. For a while I was too caught up in how wonderful everything was to mind, but I guess my nagging got to him. Eventually, he said yes and he let me pick one from his wagon. Naturally, I chose the largest one there that happened to be twice my height. I was back and had grabbed a candle and lit it before he could say another word. I…might've forgotten to let go…"

Taking over from there, bright smile still on his face, the wizard continued fondly, "There was no might about it. Your hair was singed, you had no eyebrows to speak of and you wouldn't stop smiling the entire time as a gigantic pink and blue flower exploded above you. I swear you didn't even notice that your sleeve had caught on fire until I was putting it out." She blushed at that and he went on, "I swear that you Tooks are going to push me past my limit someday."

Laughing, Bilbo nodded, "If Poppy ever has children you'll have to stay as far away as possible."

"Ha ha, Bilbo," she replied with a glare. Looking behind her she questioned, "So are you going to put me down now?"

Completely ignoring her, Kili asked, "So did you show up on her birthday often, Gandalf?"

Joviality failing a bit, he shook his head, "No, unfortunately just one more."

"Were you gone from the Shire for that long? That's what, over twenty years."

Answering for the wizard, Poppy shook her head, "No, I was gone." More explanation almost tumbling out of her mouth, her voice abruptly failed and she bit her lip, surprised and a bit scared of how easily she'd almost told them.

An air of melancholy fell about them after her abrupt pause until Bofur perked up the silence by beginning a tale of his own about some unlucky bard from the Blue Mountains.

Still hanging from Kili's arm, Poppy noticed Bilbo giving her a look of concern amongst the confused ones of the others, one she knew well. Smiling slightly, she tried to quiet his worries, hoping by convincing him she could convince herself that she was all right, as well. The only dwarf not unsure of what she was saying, Fili gave her a comforting smile that she returned, warm thanks in her gaze.

* * *

A/N: Well hello there. So, I'm not entirely happy with this, but the last two days have kind of come right along and punched me in the face. This was where my fingers took me. So, also on that note of my uncooperative personal life, I have to go back home this weekend and my laptop unfortunately won't be coming with me. I should be back Saturday, but I can't completely guarantee that there will be anything up on Sunday. I apologize in advance. :( I'll try my best, that I promise. Likewise, I'll get back to answering reviews when I return as well. (I really do appreciate them!)

So, despite this chapter not having a terrible lot of purpose, thanks for reading, review if you could, and I hope you enjoyed. :) See you...later.


	17. Darkening Doubts

"When do you think we'll finish passing this terribly desolate land?" Bilbo asked when they stopped for the evening three days later, glancing about in search of his cousin in the lengthening shadows.

But Poppy had once again escaped Kili's clutches and been set down a few hours earlier after beginning to incessantly and mercilessly poke the dwarf in the conveniently ticklish spot behind his knee. With varying excuses of abuse and his right to do so, the youngest dwarf had continued his habit of picking the hobbit up and carting her along for a few miles. He had even tossed her through the air to his brother on occasion. Though she would never acknowledge it, she was rather grateful for the unintentional help given she had begun to fall behind since her lovely incident with the warg. The ponies' pace was quick and consistent and her hip hurt. The run to catch up with them as the sun went down was becoming increasingly longer.

At the lack of a gentle sigh indicating she hadn't the faintest idea, he continued while turning back and searching for her on the horizon, "Gandalf, do you know when we'll be through with these…" He struggled to come up with an appropriate name for the land they traveled. Within the course of the day the trees Poppy so preferred to stick to had thinned out, becoming occasional pockets of pine trees instead of true forest. There was one last bastion of woods ahead, but it appeared to be a few days away.

Despite having travelled more than the hobbit, many a dwarf perked up with curiosity, too, uncomfortable in the openness of the land. Chuckling as he dismounted and appreciatively patted his horse's neck, the wizard replied, "We have reached the Lonelands, Master Baggins. No matter how many times I cross them, I always believe that the maps are wrong and they prove far bigger in reality. Their emptiness takes roughly ten days to cross if not in a hurry. Then we shall cross the Hoarwell and make our way up toward the mountains. We have a week left." Giving the hobbit a warm smile, he added, "You are but thirteen days from home, Bilbo. You aren't already tired of gentle Myrtle, are you?"

Rolling his eyes slightly, he smiled, "No, Gandalf, I'm not sick of Myrtle. Fili and Kili, however, are another matter entirely." He grinned at the affronted looks of his two riding companions.

"Bilbo, buddy!" Kili protested, attempting to look hurt.

"That pains us deeply, Bilbo," Fili added, not even trying to hide his grin.

He just laughed, having become more comfortable in their teasing and burgeoning friendship. Poppy had befriended them first, especially Fili he'd noticed, and her friendship seemed to have paved the way for them to be even more open to being Bilbo's friend. He wasn't sure when his cousin and Fili had had the time to become as close as they looked, but they seemed to hold entire conversations in mere glances. All in all, the hobbit was rather grateful they were no longer scaring him with threats of orcs but instead giving affectionate teasing. "I'm sure it does and I'm sure you'll survive."

Cutting off the amused exchange, Thorin ordered loudly, "Kili, Fili, watch the ponies. Bombur, get started."

While the former two did as they were told, collecting the excited ponies, the latter dwarf looked worriedly at his cousin. Bifur caught Bombur's gaze and nodded. Dropping his pack next to Bofur, he silently turned with glaive in hand and began walking. He would get Poppy and Bombur would ensure that they didn't eat without her. Also in on the plot, Bofur spoke up loudly with a rather too bawdy story for entertainment as Bifur crept away.

From where he had put down his things beside Dwalin's and his nephews', Thorin watched the dwarf slipping away into the gathering darkness. Feeling an oddly relieved feeling deep in his chest, so deep that he wasn't sure he was actually feeling it, the king didn't say a word. When she arrived, he would tell the girl to turn back and go home, but he couldn't do anything until she was _there_, he reasoned. Glancing about, he saw Fili's eyes find Bifur in the dimness as well. An inexplicably content smile appeared on the younger's dwarf's face. Thorin disliked it…

* * *

Grimacing slightly with each step as she pushed herself to a faster and faster jog, Poppy padded determinedly over the uneven, grassy ground. She had lost sight of the group hours before, the ponies delighting in the relatively flat terrain, the summer heat lessening the closer to the mountains they trotted.

While her hip was healing but not at all helping, Poppy knew that her lateness that day was her own fault. She didn't regret aiding the small nest of birds that had fallen from the pine tree, but she rather wished that her legs were longer.

She'd been keeping up well, never more than three quarters of a mile behind. In little groups that were always followed by Thorin's absently irritated gaze—at least, she assumed that was the look on his face whenever she saw his head turn back—her friends trotted back to see her. Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur were always some of the first. Bombur asked what kind of food she'd found and Bofur would relate a story that he was working on, often having her in fits of laughter by the end. Bifur remained steadfastly beside her, not saying a word because even if he could, he didn't need to.

Dori, Nori, and an ever excited Ori followed. The latter's notebook was out and he had plenty of questions for her. He hadn't asked to walk with her again, but his curiosity hadn't suffered in the slightest. Dori's protectiveness, however, had transferred some of its weight from the younger brother to her. The entire time they rode beside her, in between being peppered with questions about the surroundings from Ori, she was peppered with questions about her health and wellbeing by Dori. Nori gave her a conspiratorial smirk and wink as if to say 'welcome to my life.'

Fili, Kili, and Bilbo were next, Thorin's gaze following them the longest as the turning of his mass of black hair showed. They teased, she gave it right back, and Bilbo looked rather caught between amused and scandalized the entire time.

All of their support warmed her more than she could express, the sensation of being so accepted odd to her. There were those that did not turn their ponies about and share in her struggles, but she was all right with that. She could understand their actions more than the others'. While it pained her to think on it, she knew why Thorin looked back every time someone went back to see her. Though not vocally, each and every one of those dwarves who had become her friend and chose to show it were defying their king. He didn't want her but they were revealing that they did.

She hoped beyond all hope that Thorin would change his mind before anything would come of it. She was worth far, far too little for them to pick her above him.

Groaning slightly as her hip popped, Poppy decided that the growing evening was taking her thoughts to a far too melancholy place. A smile appearing as she thought of how Fili often teased her for thinking too little of herself during their nightly hours together, she looked up to see a figure before her.

Not saying a word to answer her bewildered expression, Bifur merely smiled as he came up beside her, taking her arm. Realizing why he had come back, Poppy smiled back, gently pushing the dwarf with her shoulder in a silent kind of thanks. As the sun disappeared and the world became dark, the two walked on toward their company, her steps far lighter than before.

* * *

"What's the matter with them now?" Kili wondered aloud with exasperation as the ponies he and Fili were watching erupted in excited nickers and began pawing at the ground. Laughing, Fili answered only with a nod of his head. They were excited because their hobbit had returned.

"Poppy, lass, you've returned!" Bofur called happily to her when she and Bifur approached the fire. Sending a sly look at Bombur, he continued, "You're just in time for dinner."

"Aye, it's just finished," Bombur announced. Putting her things next to Bifur's, she smiled softly at the two of them, discerning that her luck was not quiet accidental. The grin shot toward her from beneath blonde braids clearly said her suspicion was correct.

As she sat down, pulling out a jacket that Bilbo had asked her to mend, the others all gathered around. Poppy preferred to avoid getting in line, knowing that the words that would come at her were far easier to stand up against when she was already sitting. Looming above her, an unusually hostile light in his eyes, Thorin said flatly, "Go home, girl. Before it's too late."

Though they held that short conversation every single day, Poppy found it far heavier that evening. Her voice noticeably shook as she forced herself to hold his angry gaze, "No thank you, sir."

Usually he turned away with a resigned groan, but that time he continued to stare. Feeling herself shrink, the weight of the melancholy she'd been fighting returning, she fought to stay afloat. Coming to her rescue, Bilbo sat beside her, offering her her supper and beginning to ask after her day. With a pillar of support beside her, her back straightened all but literally.

No matter how much she doubted, no matter how much she believed in her own insignificance, she would do this if Bilbo did. She was not leaving. She didn't care how many miles she walked, how many wargs she fought, or how many times she had to blatantly tell a king no.

Her moment of weakness past, she smiled as she absently ate while listening to Bilbo speak, Dori, Nori, and Ori coming to sit by her once they had their food and Thorin had moved on. Bifur appeared behind her, silent and steady as always. Whenever she searched for it, she found Fili's hazel gaze upon her, a smile that warmed every part of her on his lips. Kili's teasing words were close at hand when he noticed.

The darkness suddenly seemed far less heavy and Thorin's dislike less of a burden. She had dwarves who loved her; she would take on the world if that's what they wished.

* * *

A/N: Well, hello again everyone.

I must sincerely apologize for this taking so long. The truth of the matter is that I had a family member pass away last week and my trip home was to attend her funeral. When I came back and tried to write again, well...I'm trying to think of a description for what came out that's not quite as strong as 'tragically morbid'. It's taken me a bit to get back in a mood in which I don't accidentally kill a character or something (it's been known to happen with me). So, as you have seen, things are still a bit dark, but I promise we're on the uptake. Things will get back on track from here on out.

So, thanks so much for reading and sticking with me, review if you could, and I hope you enjoyed. I WILL see you on Thursday. :)


	18. Mending

"May I ask a favor of you, lass?"

Looking up with clear surprise, Poppy found Oin standing before her. She had never really conversed with the elder dwarf before that evening, he and his brother Gloin forming an imposing pair. Though, he'd never been mean to her either. He had just remained…indifferent, as most of the older dwarves had.

Smiling gently, she turned her attention from Bilbo's irritatingly uncooperative jacket. She'd been attempting to mend the sleeve for the past two evenings and was about ready to toss it off the nearest cliff. Giving a nod, she indicated he could by all means continue.

She watched him momentarily glance back at Thorin, who had taken no notice of her that evening after telling her to leave as always, before speaking. The dwarf king had taken rather less notice of her than was usual even for him since her dark day two days prior. Her friends still came back to visit her, she still fell behind a bit but never missed supper, and Bifur still came back to ensure she arrived safely every night. She wasn't sure why but Thorin had decided to let it all be, at least for the time being.

Apparently coming to the same conclusion, the dwarf had an equally friendly smile on his face when he finally asked as he knelt down to her level, "Would you be willing to mend a shirt for me?" He produced a white garment that had torn apart at the shoulder seam. Still smiling, she took it and began to inspect it. It wouldn't be terribly hard and she told him so. Continuing, as if falling more into stride with talking to her, he added, "I'd do it myself, but if you truly wouldn't mind."

Shaking her head, she replied as she leaned toward the fire and light to get a better look, "No, of course not. I rather enjoy sewing actually."

Chuckling the dwarf shook his head, "I can't say that we do, lass. Our hands can craft a great many things…but those damned needles are just too small."

Laughing in return, she quipped softly, "Lucky for you I'm far too small for my own good…especially when it comes to things wanting to eat me."

With a voice even quieter than hers, he provided, "Then you picked the right company to follow, dearie." Standing with a grin and an encouraging wink, the older warrior stood with a final word of thanks.

A grateful smile on her face, her chest warming from his acceptance, she promised, "I'll have this back to you by tomorrow."

"Take your time, lass." With those last words, he returned to his place by his brother, a questioning look on Gloin's face. Simply shrugging at whatever muttered words the younger said, Oin sat down to his own work as the company's healer, pulling out some herbs and inspecting them.

Retaking Bilbo's coat, she sighed at the thing, wondering how best to go about fixing it. It had resisted all her prior efforts, the corduroy fabric proving uncooperative. She wished that he had more practical, simpler material, like wool or the linen that Oin's shirt was made of. Turning it inside out, she scooted closer to the fire for better light, not noticing that Kili had flopped down beside her until he spoke.

"See, now how does that work?"

Frowning up at him as Fili sat more quietly on her other side, his arm brushing hers as he began unclasping his gauntlets, she asked quietly, "What exactly?"

"You, my _lovely_ Poppy. _You_," he said with a voice that reminded her remarkably of the one Bofur took on when he was voicing a particularly foolish, pompous suitor or hero in his stories.

"Kili, _darling_, you really need to stop being yourself and start making sense." Fili snorted harshly against the water he'd just swallowed. Still smiling sweetly at Kili, she reached over and rubbed the blonde brother's back until he regained the ability to breathe.

Tone and teasing mood not dipping a bit, the younger grinned, "I only meant, my lovely, that you're really far too good at too many things."

Her head tilting to the side and her eyebrows contracting, she asked with genuine puzzlement, "What? I'm not very good at anything." Fili snorted again, though this time in disbelief.

"Nonsense, lass," Dori picked up from across the fire. "You're good at plenty. You can cook and bake and I've never seen a living soul as good with animals as you."

"And you know all the old stories of Arda," Ori offered. "You've told me ones I don't even know!" The scholar's tone made it very clear that that did not happen very often and she smiled because of it.

Taking his pipe from his mouth to make his grin fully visible, Bofur added, "You've also got a mean arm with that staff, too, lass. And, as a dwarf with the experience and ever-growing knowledge to say it, you've got a right smart wit on that tongue of yours."

Kili's grin was wide when her mouth opened and closed without being able to get a word out. "And on top of all that, you can sew. Really, Poppy, you have to be bad at _something_."

"Following orders, perhaps," Thorin threw from his corner of the fire, a flat look in his eyes.

Coming to her rescue as her face flushed bright red with their praise and Thorin's dark tone threatened to kill the pleasantly light mood, Bilbo provided, "That would be dancing, Kili…buddy." The foreign, informal word seemed to stick on the roof of the hobbit's mouth like peanut butter until he forced it out, grimacing slightly at actually having used it. A smile appeared however as the others laughed.

Groaning at the looks of keen interest on not only Kili's but also Fili's face, Poppy turned back to look resolutely at her work. That was _not _exactly the aid she'd been hoping for. She found herself poking the needle through the sleeve rather more vigorously than entirely necessary as Bilbo grinned.

"Do go on, Bilbo, friend," a traitorous blonde-haired and bearded dwarf beside her prompted. She leveled a heavy glare in Fili's direction that he only continued to smile at.

Chuckling, her cousin shook his head, knowing that she was going to be incredibly cross with him as it was, "I won't be that mean. Let's just say that Poppy went to one dance as a very young almost tween and was perfectly happy to volunteer to babysit for the couples who went ever after… Every male hobbit's feet thanked her for her sacrifice, too…as did the ale kegs."

Grabbing the closest thing that could be used as a projectile, she hurled Fili's fur-lined gauntlet with amazing accuracy at Bilbo's head that he had not been on the receiving end of since they were both children and bickered like that every day. The group's laughter doubled at the surprised screech that escaped him upon contact.

Looking up in horror as he realized just why it had hurt so much, he exclaimed, "Hey! There is a knife in this! Poppy, I could have died!"

"Then be thankful I didn't throw his boot at you!" she shot back, grabbing one of the two throwing axes stored in Fili's boot for him to see. As she shoved it back into its sheath, Fili looked on wondering how on earth he had gotten in the middle of this and feeling a tad bit molested, not that he necessarily _minded_ being molested by Poppy… Thankfully, his attention was taken by the male hobbit's next words.

"How did you even know that was in there?" Bilbo asked suspiciously.

Rolling her eyes and lying through her teeth, she replied, "Bilbo, I walk on the ground while you all ride ponies. I'm rather always around foot level." In truth, she'd only truly noticed them for what they were when Fili had taken them out to clean them one night when she sat on watch with him. But, Bilbo didn't need to know that.

"Oh come on now, lass," Bofur soothed as their frowns and glares persisted. "If you really want to know, Fili there can't dance a step, either. It makes going to the royal to-dos far more entertaining for us simple folk." He sent a cheeky grin in the prince's direction.

Laughing heartily, Kili launched into a story about how when they had learned to dance, he had forced Fili to learn to the girl part and that was why his skills were rather…lackluster. The complete turn from amused to embarrassed on her friend's face and the speed with which it occurred made Poppy giggle. Raising an eyebrow in her direction as the others laughed about them, Fili gently tossed his remaining, knife-free gauntlet at her. She just grinned up at him after it bounced off the side of her head, making that nice little catch in his chest appear.

* * *

The laughter had died down and Bofur's job as resident tale purveyor had begun in earnest when Poppy had finished with her cousin's jacket. Turning it right side out again, she gently tossed it to him over Fili's head.

From his place further from the fire where Poppy would have been had she not needed the extra light, the movement caught Bifur's attention. Deciding that it was then time, he rose from his seat beside the grazing ponies. Grabbing up his glaive and Poppy's staff, he strode toward her. Before he spoke, she had turned, sensing his approach. Holding out her staff to her as the group went quiet, he barked a few words in Khuzdul. Though she didn't understand the syllables he spoke, she gleaned more than enough from his tone.

Rising without a word, she grasped her weapon and followed him into the dim but empty space between the fire and the ponies. Though she looked more than a bit apprehensive, Bifur could tell she knew what he was about. She had fought off the warg five days before. With Gandalf's healing, her hip was almost entirely mended, only leaving some stiffness. Her arms were all better, now only light scars. She was better; therefore she needed to learn to fight if she was going to continue on their journey with them…

Bifur knew how that would pan out. One of the things he loved most about the lass was her quiet determination. She was like the very mountain of their destination: strong, solid, and unwavering in her loyalty. Of course, she wasn't made of rock like it was and had her moments of doubt and weakness. Even a mountain needed a strong foundation to rest upon when the earth decided to shift beneath it. The thing with his Poppy was that she endured. He wasn't sure what it had been that happened to her, but he could tell a weary, tried soul when he saw one. Hers had been stepped upon and thrown into the mud a few times, but it had carried on regardless, bearing its scars in silence.

No matter what happened, she was going to be there and he was going to teach her the best he could.

Knowing that she had been self-taught, likely out of trial, error, and necessity, he decided to get a feel for what she knew before anything else. Pacing before her, he watched her watch him, blue eyes focused in on him. He was about to comment that tunnel vision had the tendency to get on killed when the movement of some of the others drew her attention. Her eyes shot to the sides before coming back to him. Apparently, she'd already learned that on her own. The first lesson for a fighting dwarf was to know your surroundings and know your companions. That last bit might be a bit tough for her being the only hobbit with any fighting ability he'd ever heard of, but he was in no great rush.

Without the slightest bit of warning, he let out a war cry and swung his glaive at her with carefully controlled might. Knowing by instinct and experience exactly where his glaive would end up, he watched her face instead. Though he could see the fear light up in her eyes, she didn't panic. Bending down to half her height, she ducked his swing and brought her staff up to hit his elbow as he swung through. He grunted slightly on contact, her hit having a bit of weight behind it, though not enough to truly hurt.

He was going to have to teach her to fight in a way quite foreign to dwarves. She was going to have to be quick, fast, and go not for killing blows but annoying ones, tiresome ones at joints and to the head. Wearing down her opponents would have to be her strategy.

Nodding in approval when she'd brought her staff back to her and bent her knees slightly in expectation of another blow, he spoke a few words in Khuzdul. From behind her, to her and many a dwarf's surprise, Oin translated, "He says to keeps your hands in the middle more."

"Why?"

Coming up beside her and taking her staff in his hand he demonstrated, "Because your staff is light, which means you can spin it and let your hands slide down it, letting you grab whichever end is more useful." As a user of a staff, albeit an iron one, Oin was the one to know.

Nodding, she took it back and placed her hands closer to the middle than she was usually comfortable with, just in time to bring it up and block the blow Bifur swung at her. Ducking back, she stared at the blade she had just managed to catch with wide eyes. Bifur nodded approvingly again. Leaning her staff against her shoulder, she took a short moment to hastily braid back her curls before falling into the odd little stance she'd developed over the years.

And so, with Oin translating Bifur's replies and commands and providing plenty of his own, Poppy truly began her first dwarf-taught weapons lesson.

* * *

Far sorer and sleepier than usual, Poppy sighed slightly when she awoke later in the darkness to Fili bidding Bifur good night. The older dwarf was fully aware she was awake when he came back to their place by the ponies, Moira resting her head on the hobbit's back. Smiling at her and gently lifting the pony's head, he nodded toward where Fili sat.

Surprised but not overly alarmed, she returned his expression as she got up, him taking her place beside the drowsy pony. Wrapping her cloak more tightly about her as a gust of wind blew through the camp, she hopped lightly over their companions. For whatever reason, Bifur knowing about her friendship with Fili and how exactly it had blossomed made her feel better about how she snuck through the darkness in the night. It wasn't as if they were _doing_ anything, but that another dwarf knew and did not condemn it made her feel better. The intricacies of dwarven culture were not a forte of hers and she did not want to accidentally get Fili in trouble or anything.

Her good mood only getting better, she sat down beside the blonde dwarf. His ornery grin turning fully on her, she felt herself warm up despite the wind.

At the grogginess on her face, he chuckled, "You won't be able to keep staying up with me if Bifur and Oin keep at this. Trust me, Oin helped train me. I did nothing but eat, sleep, and train for months."

Letting out a great yawn, she let her head fall onto his shoulder and merely groaned, making him laugh once again.

"He's the best staff-fighter in the Blue Mountains. There were dwarves lining up for the chance to receive his knowledge back home."

"Remind me to tell them to find a less strenuous line of work."

Every part of him relaxing in the odd but persistent way it did when she was that near, he placed his chin on the top of her head, "He's a healer by trade. I think he prefers the healing to the killing."

She smiled, pulling her cloak tighter about her and trying not to dwell on how she unconsciously leaned into him, "That makes two of us… I should be working on his shirt."

Fili snorted, "Yes and it would turn out worse than if I were the one sewing. You can do it tomorrow."

They sat in comfortable silence with Poppy dozing and Fili absently cleaning his already spotless throwing axes. Finally he commented, "So you can't dance…"

Letting out a deep sigh, she grumbled with a smile, "I knew you were going to bring that up. What exactly do you want to know?"

"Why's it so important to you? You seemed genuinely irritated at Bilbo."

She laughed as she felt him turn his head to look down at her face, "Because that _never_ happens." Feeling him chuckle at that, she continued more softly and seriously, "It's different in the Shire. It sounds silly but dancing is a big deal. It's how we meet one another when we're courting and whatnot. You can meet on the road or in town and whatnot as much as you want, but nothing is ever official until you've gone to dances and only danced with one another. I was still a child when I went, far too young to really worry, but it's a bit of a sore point if a hobbit girl is too clumsy to dance. It's like showing every man in the Shire that she isn't good enough for courting."

"Couldn't you have just learned if it bothered you?" The idea of Poppy…_courting_ someone was just very odd and dislike of the notion just reverberated through him.

Laughing lightly, she nodded, "Probably, but I threw a twist into everyone's expectations and ran away the next year anyway. The few times I went back there wasn't anyone lining up at the door to court the town oddity. I had a woman hide her children from me once because she was scared I had rabies." Mood lightening a bit when he gently laid his arm across her shoulders, she shrugged, "Besides, it's not that I _can't_ dance. I just don't like dancing with other people. There's just far too many feet involved."

Laughing, he rolled his eyes, "I'd imagine it's far worse for you guys when someone steps on your foot, too. We, at least, have shoes on."

Grinning wickedly, she commented nonchalantly, "Oh yes, you can't dance either, can you?"

He let out a sigh incredibly similar to hers. Looking toward the sky with a pained expression, he defended himself with a simple, "Dancing is stupid and you're incorrigible."

Snorting, she poked him in the ribs, "Yes, and you're a prince, so you get to learn lovely stupid things." Feeling him tense at the mention of what he was, she continued with a tired yawn, "It's peculiar thinking about you like that. Prince Fili… We don't have nobility in the Shire. The Tooks are the closest we have, but they're more old than noble."

When he still didn't say anything, she pressed on likely rather further than she would've if she hadn't been more than half asleep. "I mean, you're not _Prince_ Fili. You're just Fili who apparently can't dance."

He had never really sat very comfortably being the heir. Of course, he was and there was no getting around it. It was his responsibility and he knew it, but it was also a heavy responsibility that sometimes he wished that he didn't have to have on his shoulders. Sometimes he envied Kili's ability to be more carefree. That was why Kili had been able to become an archer. Of course, Fili could have if he truly wished, but it would have been odd for the heir to Erebor to be carting about a bow. It felt incredibly disconcerting to imagine that one day, hopefully one far, far off, he would be responsible for and to an entire kingdom of people.

Sighing genuinely as he pulled himself from his thoughts, he shrugged, "Not everything thinks that way."

Yawning once again, she said with a weariness-induced petulance as she buried her face deeper into the warmth of his shoulder, "Well, they should. Fili, buddy, we were destined for one another."

"Why is that?" The smile was clear in his voice and it warmed her all over.

"We can't dance and we aren't exactly what others believe us to be. I think it's fate. Also, if we ever had to dance, I could just stand on your feet and all our problems would be solved."

She felt him begin to shake with laughter as he pressed a kiss to her forehead, making her breath hitch with surprise and some other lovely feeling in her stomach. "If we ever have to dance, that's what we'll do."

Somehow, Poppy managed to stay awake for the rest of Fili's watch, dozing in the relaxing smoke of his pipe and contended silence they shared. When he gently squeezed her shoulder and whispered that it was time for him to wake Thorin, she stood with reluctance. Glancing up at the still clear but hazy sky, she smirked and stood on her tiptoes. Reaching back for the blue hood he always wore, she pulled it up over his hair. Nodding toward the hazy ring about the moon, she explained with a final yawn, "It's going to rain before morning."

Pleasantly surprised at her proximity as she brushed against him to reach his hood, it took a moment for puzzlement to cross his face and for him to protest, "But there are no clouds."

"It's going to rain. Just trust me."

Squeezing his arm with a smile and a good night, she silently made her way over their companions, lying down beside Bifur with a smile firmly ingrained on her face.

Later that night, before morning had come, Fili awakened to thick droplets of water falling onto the fabric of his hood. Frowning, he blinked open his eyes and looked toward the sky. As the rain poured down and his companions all awoke with unhappy cries as they were caught unawares, he merely smiled in the still sleeping hobbit's direction before turning over and going back to sleep himself.

* * *

A/N: Hello everyone! So, I am back and it feels positively lovely! :)

I have yet to reply to reviews from this chapter, but I promise I'll get to them all tomorrow. I did just want to say thank you for all of your warm thoughts. They really did help me get the motivation to write back. And back it is! So, I had an odd little revelation today. I realized that many of the other stories on here that were at around 50,000 words are already over the mountains and into Mirkwood. I haven't even reached the freaking trolls yet! It felt really quite odd. :) I just have to say thank you to everyone for joining me for the long haul. I get the feeling this is going to turn into a right nice behemoth.

Anywho, thanks so much for reading, review if you could, and I hope you enjoyed. :)


	19. Rain

Smiling as Bella fidgeted uncomfortably as she put the pony's saddle on, Poppy soothed, "Oh come now, Bella. It's not going to be that bad. At least it's a warm rain."

Huffing out a breath in her face, the pony did not seem to share the hobbit's positive attitude or penchant for rain. Just as she had predicted, the rain was pouring down about them, the usually bright summer morning dampened to a dull cloudy grey. She loved every part of it from the feel of the droplets on her face to the smell in the air to the feel of the mud and wet earth beneath her bare feet. Poppy Gamgee had always loved a good rainstorm, thunder and lightning and all, ever since she'd run out into her first one as a small child. The cleansing water that fell toward the earth always made her want to spread her arms wide and just bask in it, as if the wave of freshness that washed over the land afterward could somehow wash over her, too.

As she saddled the damp but ever uncomplaining ponies that morning amongst the downpour, her feelings were the same ones she'd had as a child and every storm in between. Grinning at Bifur as he shook out his cloak and subsequently found himself ankle deep in a mud puddle, she gathered up her things and gave him a quick hug of good morning.

The others had almost all been up and unhappily awake for a few hours, a lucky Fili and Gandalf being the only ones to snooze on through the deluge. While Thorin and the others were more than ready to at least gain some ground if they had to be awake and wet, no one volunteered for the duty of waking the wizard, so the company remained in the slight protection of the trees they had camped beneath on the edge of the wood Bilbo had seen two days prior.

A swift, damp shove from Kili soon had his brother up and amongst the living. Smiling drowsily as he stretched and found himself still quite warm and dry, the blonde dwarf yawned, "Good morning to you, too."

Kili just glared and handed him a biscuit. Not yet nearly damp enough to let it spoil his mood, Fili's grin only widened when Poppy made her way forward, catching the biscuit that Bombur tossed to her. He waited until the others had bid her a good morning before asking, "How did you know?"

As their companions gave him bewildered looks, not only at his ambiguous words but also his irritatingly good mood, she smiled and called simply as she made her way out of camp, "Fifteen years in a forest."

Thunder could be heard in the distance as silence descended until Ori asked with clear confusion, "What does she mean? What's Poppy talking about?"

Immediately stiffening, Bilbo exchanged a glance with Fili. If he'd had a shred of doubt about whether the dwarf knew before, it was definitely gone then. While the hobbit looked scared to death, Fili's comfortable smile remained, "Don't worry about it, Ori. She'll explain sometime, I'm sure. So are we going to get moving?"

* * *

Many hours had passed with the rain coming ever more thickly down, the mud becoming ever soupier, and the dwarves of the Company of Thorin Oakenshield become ever damper before Poppy returned to the group, the delight of having both rain and a forest too much to deny herself some free and wild exploring. It was a warm summer rain that no longer held any chill in it and she hadn't taken the time to act like such a complete child in a long time.

Glancing about, finding Bofur looking with discouragement at his unlit pipe and Bilbo staring straight ahead, blinking through the drops, Dori asked after blowing away some of the water that had collected on his beard, "It's as if Ulmo decided to move the sea to the skies. How can it rain this much for this long?"

Appearing without a sound aside from the slick noise of her feet squelching through the mud, Poppy skidded to a halt beside him and rubbed his pony's neck, her smile and happiness shining like the sun that was hiding behind the dark clouds, "Oh, it's not that bad, Dori."

Frowning at the hobbit who seemingly had taken absolutely no care to protect herself from the rain, he worriedly mentioned, "You'll catch your death, Poppy."

Spreading her arms wide and laughing up at the opening sky, she declared with her sopping curls sticking to the skin of her face and neck, "Isn't it wonderful?!"

Shaking his head in her direction, suppressing a smile that the others couldn't manage to hide, he called forward, "Here, Master Gandalf, can't you do something about this deluge?"

"It is raining, master dwarf," Gandalf replied with no small bit of irascibility. "And it will continue raining until the rain is done. If you wish to change the weather of the world you should find yourself another wizard."

As the old man had spoken, Poppy had padded forward through the mud to where Myrtle was following along in the line, her head dropping. Smiling at the animal, she rubbed her forelock before looking up at her positively soaked cousin. He looked rather more like a drowned cat than the hobbit she had grown up with. Shrugging off her warm and conveniently quite water-resistant wool cloak, she handed it silently up to him.

Rolling his eyes at her insane love of rain—despite her abject fear of rivers—he took the garment gratefully. Pulling it on and pushing the hood up, he asked as Gandalf finished, "Are there any?"

"What?" Gandalf queried without turning around.

Holding out an arm to his cousin, Bilbo explained as she swung herself up behind him after a tentative look toward the front and Thorin, "Other wizards."

"There are five of us. The greatest of our order is Saruman the White. Then there are the two blue wizards…you know, I've quite forgotten their names."

"And who is the fifth?"

"Well, that would be Radagast the Brown."

Frowning slightly, pulling himself more beneath his hood, Bilbo continued, "Is he a great wizard or is he…more like you? Ow!" He frowned back over his shoulder at the sharp pinch to the back he'd just gotten, finding a similar expression looking back at him.

Chuckling lightly, knowing what had just occurred, the wizard replied, "Thank you, Anna. And I think he is a very great wizard, in his own way. He's a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals to others. He keeps a watchful eye over the vast forest lands to the east. And a good thing, too, for evil will always try to find a foothold in this world."

They rode in relative silence for a while longer before Poppy shifted and made to get off, noticing how Thorin had begun to glance back more often. She was not one to overstay her welcome if she could help it…except of course when that welcome had to do with following her cousin on a quest to regain the dwarf king's ancestral homeland.

Smiling to her as she gave a delighted noise when her feet hit the mud, Bilbo shook his head, "Thank you for the cloak. Do try to avoid getting completely covered in mud."

Grinning, she raised an eyebrow at him as she hopped lightly over the larger puddles, "You're no fun, Bilbo Baggins."

"I'm also no longer ten years old…unfortunately," he laughed. "You on the other hand seem to go straight backwards whenever it begins to mist."

"Isn't it positively wonderful that some things never change?" They shared a warm smile at that and, at the look of pure happiness in her eyes, despite the rain Bilbo was incredibly glad they had made the inane decision to follow a wizard and thirteen dwarves off into the unknown. Damp he might be, but Poppy was happy.

Leaving him with a final smile, she turned and went to make her way back toward Bifur. She walked with him for a few miles her happy mutterings to the ponies the only sound. Patting her friend on the leg, she veered off to go back into the trees. Watching her skip off with a growing frown, Kili called to her after she tripped, fell face first into the mud and just began laughing hysterically, "You're blooming insane, Poppy!"

Chuckling, Bilbo glanced backward at the young dwarf and his brother who wore an expression of extreme amusement, "Watch what you say. She'll have absolutely no qualms about taking you right down into the mud with her."

"Speaks one of experience, Bilbo?" Fili asked with a grin. Huffing a sigh at the memory, Bilbo could only nod as the others laughed.

Witnessing the female hobbit wipe the mud off her face with a still huge smile, Kili frowned again and called, sounding incredibly like his uncle, "We make cloaks, hoods, and coats for a reason. Do you have absolutely _no_ sense, Poppy?"

Pausing for a moment, having to smile at worried, sensible, really almost paternal Kili, she replied, "I'm a girl, Kili. No warrior, scholar, craftsman, farmer, or anyone else on this earth ever accused us of having any sense!"

Even Thorin's stern expression dipped slightly at that as she disappeared back into the foliage.

* * *

"Gandalf, what shall we do? We can't just camp out in the rain again."

Frowning as he looked first about him and then up at the sky, the wizard was unsure at first. Thorin was right, of course. While bounding about like Poppy was possible in the gentle though persistent nature of the rain, the ponies and, perhaps more importantly, the dwarves would not lightly suffer another night in the wet.

Appearing beside them without a sound, Poppy patted Gandalf's horse in greeting. A wide smile was still upon her face, reminding the wizard remarkably of many years before when she had worn that expression almost interminably. He wasn't entirely sure what all had brought it on, but between the rain and a certain blonde dwarf that kept pulling her gaze he could see the exuberant hobbit she had once been slowly fighting its way to the surface through the weight it had been crushed beneath.

"Good afternoon, little Anna," he said, choosing to put Thorin's troubles to the side for just a moment. Looking on with a bit of confusion at her new attire of a dry change of clothes and her green summer cloak, he queried, "What can we poor, damp souls do for you?"

Smiling up at him, the expression holding without any hesitation when Thorin's unhappy face turned toward her, "I found an empty cave. It's dry."

So that was why she'd changed clothes. Her others were hanging up to dry.

Her voice having carried back to the others, a loud cheer went up at the prospect of a warm fire and a dry roof over their heads. Both wizard and hobbit looked to Thorin then, calmly waiting for his acceptance or refusal of the offer. His tone even harsher than normal with his beard soaked through, he asked darkly, "You're sure it's empty?"

"Yes, as long as you do not mind the bunnies."

Raising an eyebrow at that he pressed further, "Just how big is this cave?"

At that she laughed softly, actually _laughed,_ in front of Thorin, "Big enough, Master King."

Letting out a sigh after looking back and seeing the hope on his men's faces, he nodded, "Lead on, girl."

Taking Gandalf's horse's bridal, she did so. At the mere idea of a warm, dry place to sleep, conversation went from nigh on nonexistent to its normal chorus of deep voices. Smile still in place, Poppy looked back at them and felt her quiet return. Some part of her had decided that with all of her companions silent and gloomy, it was her place to pick up the slack. They were back to normal, so she could be, too. Glancing up to Gandalf, she saw the watchfulness in the wizard's eyes. He had seen that glimpse of what she used to be like, too. She returned the growing grin on his face with a wide, genuine one of her own before looking before them.

The cave was in sight when Kili nodded forward to his brother, silently asking if he wanted to ride to the front. Shrugging, Fili followed without a word but with a growing smirk. The two came up alongside Poppy and the wizard, the former not even having to look back to see who it was. Reaching back when her shoulder was nudged, she greeted, "Hello there, Minty." When an unhappy whicker filled the air, she added, "Good afternoon to you, too, Moira."

Gandalf chuckled from where he rode before asking, "What can we do for you two this fine afternoon?"

Mischievous smirk on his face, Kili shrugged, "Oh, nothing much." Poppy stiffened at his tone, so light and clearly far from trustworthy. She let out a small tired sigh when he continued, "We were just wondering about something our lovely Poppy said this morning."

Eyebrows rising, Fili looked to his brother with confusion. What was he going on about? "We were?"

Smile still firmly in place, Kili nodded, "Aye, we were. What did you mean this morning by 'fifteen years in the forest'? What exactly does that mean? We wanted to—"

"You," Fili hastily cut in. "_You_ were wondering. I was not."

Looking quite aghast, Kili's blue eyes widened and he put a hand dramatically to his chest, "You're leaving me?"

A good many snorts were heard from behind them and a smile slowly appeared back on Poppy's previously fear stricken face. She glanced forward to see Thorin looking up toward the sky, as if asking Mahal why him. Chuckling slightly, her attention was pulled back to the brothers when Kili continued, "You're picking a girl over me?! An insane, rain-loving girl at that!"

"Hey!" she protested. "I am standing right here, I thank you."

"You've been running through a positive deluge without anything on for protection! What would you call it?" he asked, an eyebrow raised beneath his hood.

At his words, she halted, looking up at him with crossed arms and a positively wicked smirk on her face. Letting out a laugh, Bilbo called forward, "Take it back, Kili. Trust me, just take it back! If she doesn't throw you in, she'll throw it at you."

But it was too late. Bending quickly down, she had taken a ball of mud in her hands and hurled it back toward the dwarf, hitting him square in the chest. Letting out a shout of surprise, he began spouting off angry nonsense about the line of Durin and swatting and mud throwing. Sighing, Bilbo effectively silenced him, "Kili, be thankful it wasn't at your face like it usually was with me."

* * *

Inside their dry refuge of the cave, Poppy stood up after dinner that evening, handing Oin his mended shirt back. With a grateful expression, he nodded, "Thank you, lass. You do fine work."

Small smile lighting up her face, she replied, "I try." Giving a shy glance to the company he kept, she retreated back across the fire to Bombur and Bofur before any could say much more. Thorin had already given her the order to return home and she had already said no. Clearly, she'd had her fill of being voluntarily intimidated by the older dwarves.

Exchanging a quick nod with Bifur, Oin reached back and grabbed his iron staff. Frowning heavily, Gloin asked quietly from his side, "Why do you bother, brother?"

With a nod, Dwalin added, "She's like a child with a stick."

Shrugging, he replied, "Why not? All due respect my king," he inclined his head to Thorin beside him, "but she does not appear to be going anywhere. It's been almost three weeks of walking and she hasn't so much as complained aloud."

"Perhaps you and Bifur could persuade her to go," Balin suggested, looking uncomfortable with the idea but voicing it nonetheless. A tiny bit of hope sprung up in Thorin's eyes at it. He had yet to say anything about Oin and Bifur's efforts, though he had only had a day to think about them.

Oin shook his head, "I'm no expert on the lass, but I think telling her to go back is rather like telling Fili or Kili to leave the other."

Sighing, Thorin gave a nod, "Completely futile."

The healer gave another shrug, "You continue with your methods, my king. I might as well help the lass learn to keep herself alive."

Rising, he left the conversation to his brethren and came up beside Bifur. Heaving a sigh of preemptive exhaustion, Poppy gathered her staff, pulled her hair back into a messy braid, and pushed herself up. She looked as if she were caught between resigned and determined. Laughing slightly, having seen that face many a time before when he trained people, Oin gave a nod, "That's the spirit, lass. Now let's see that stance of yours."

Bending her knees slightly as they had taught her, modifying what she'd just naturally fallen into over the years, she found herself ducking and dodging blows from not only Bifur's glaive but Oin's staff, the two continuing to bark out instructions in both languages.

"Bend your knees!"

"Move your feet!"

"Use your surroundings!"

What felt like a lifetime of blood pounding in her ears later, Bifur nodded that she could stop. Having learned the night before that it was a trick, she lowered her guard only slightly, allowing herself a moment to try and catch her breath. She honestly wasn't sure how well she was doing, but if nothing else she was going to be in incredible shape. It felt like she never got an actual hit in on them, but she also managed not to get hit, which she considered a great blessing.

Taking a deep intake of breath once she was again able, she made to stand up straight again. From her peripheral she saw Bifur's glaive slicing through the air toward her. Dropping immediately to the ground, she rolled once, popped up and smacked him in the hip with her staff as he swung through. Letting out a grunt of pain, the dwarf gave a nod and smiled widely, "_That's my girl."_

While she wasn't sure exactly what he'd said, she could feel the approval in his tone. "May I _please_ be done for the night?"

Laughing as he exchanged a look with his associate teacher, Oin shook his head, "Almost, lass. Almost. Fili, lad, give us a hand."

The younger dwarf grinned suddenly at that, reaching for his swords. Poppy on the other hand did not look amused. Blue eyes frantically looking from Fili to her teachers, she paled slightly as her friend pulled his two swords from their double-ended scabbard on his back. Reading the thoughts that she wouldn't say in front of everyone, Oin soothed, "You'll be fine, lass. Just try not to think about how he's had those swords longer than you've been alive."

Still not speaking, she raised an eyebrow. Chuckling, Bifur shook his head and barked a few words in Khuzdul to Oin. Then understanding her worries, Oin leaned upon his staff, "Orcs and goblins use swords, too, lass. While Fili here is a sight better with his than all but the best orcs, you still might come across some. You might as well learn to fight against them now."

"And don't worry if you beat him, dearie," Dori offered, ignoring her clearly disbelieving snort at the very idea. "It'll cheer up Kili that someone could."

Fili said nothing as he came and stood before her, just continued smiling. While her eyes were wide, not quite with fear but with definite apprehension, he watched as she took a few deep breaths and slowly managed to return the expression. It took a bit, but the comfortingly warm feeling that always started in her stomach and worked its way out to reach all the way to her toes appeared the longer he smiled at her.

He waited long enough for her to smile back at him, apparently feeling better, before spinning his swords in each palm and starting forward. With carefully practiced strength and aim that Oin, Gloin, and especially Thorin had drilled into him for years, Fili swung at her quickly and relentlessly.

Completely unsure how to handle the new attack, Poppy adapted the best she could, choosing to give ground and stay quick instead of standing and trying to lash back. As they had suggested she only used her staff to deflect blows when there was no other choice. With Oin and Bifur's voices again in the background, she tried to take what they said and put it to use. However, just as she did whenever they swung and hit at her, she knew that against Fili she was pathetically and irreversibly outclassed.

Ignoring everything but the tiny amount of instinct she had gained over the years, she went where her hands and feet took her, trusting them far more than her whirling mind.

It happened so quickly that Fili wasn't sure it had actually happened, but for a split second he saw something change in Poppy's eyes. Something in them clicked into place. Pulling her staff up, she caught his left sword just as he swung it about toward her head. Throwing off his momentum, she pushed through with the bottom of her staff and hit him harshly in the stomach. While he didn't bend over, he had _not_ been expecting her to hit him that hard. With another sharp smack she'd knocked one of his swords away.

The next thing he knew, as he shifted to account for his lack of a second weapon, she had propelled her forward with her staff and run bodily at him, hitting him at exactly the right moment to throw him back to the ground. His arms doing their job without thought as they were supposed to, the next thing he realized he was laying on his back with Poppy's staff at his neck and the flat of his sword was pressed against hers, complete and utter silence surrounding them.

Shortly after, he became _extremely_ aware of the fact that she was sitting on his chest, a leg on either side, and her face close enough to his that he could feel her breath upon his skin and her nose brushing his. Blinking uncertainly, she seemed to come to the same conclusion after a few agonizing seconds, a deep blush and a smile rising on her face as she pulled her staff back.

Grinning, that pull in his chest that he got when she was around beginning to erupt into something more than just a tug, he did the same with his sword. Both breathing heavily, they remained as they were, completely content to just continue smiling at one another.

The moment was broken when Dwalin questioned sharply, "Where in the name of Mahal were you hiding that, lass?"

Pulling back and, with what Fili dared to think was some reluctance, standing again, she shrugged, her face still flushed red with exertion and something a bit more. Nodding approvingly, Oin commented lightly as she helped Fili to his feet, "As long as it comes back when you need it, lass, I don't care where it came from."

Chatter resumed almost immediately as she was released from her lesson. Sitting back down, Fili didn't hear a word of his brother's teasing or notice the mischievously knowing look that appeared on Kili face.

* * *

A/N: Well hello there everyone! So, this is what I present to you for reading for this Saturday. I do hope you enjoy it. The chapter title's a bit weak, but ehh, who really pays that much attention. :) One person did ask in a review but I decided to say, that we will be getting to the trolls here within the week. I'm rather excited. :) While on the subject, thanks so much for all your wonderful reviews and thoughts (and to you lurkers, thanks so much for reading!). So, I now say thanks for reading, review if you could, and I hope you enjoy! :) See you Monday.


	20. Potential

Yawning heavily, Kili pushed himself reluctantly out from beneath his blanket. Smiling at the resigned expression on the younger dwarf's face, Bofur clapped him encouragingly on the shoulder, "Cheer up, lad. At least you'll have some company tonight. It's a nice change." He nodded his head toward the entrance of the cave where Poppy was sitting on a rock with her back against the wall, her green cloak around her and her feet stuck out just far enough to be rained upon.

Fighting through another yawn, the dark-haired brother asked with clear confusion, "What's she doing up?"

"One of the rabbits apparently decided to see if she was as safe as she smelled about an hour ago. She said she couldn't get back to sleep." Setting down his mattock and readjusting his hat as he pulled himself under his own covers, the dwarf finished with, "Have a good watch, lad."

Rubbing his eyes as he strode toward her, his sword in one hand and bow in the other, Kili greeted enthusiastically, "You're looking _lovely_ this evening, Poppy."

He was really rather excited. He could get up to plenty of mischief when it came to finding out why exactly his brother couldn't take his eyes off her for more than the span of a few minutes in the evenings. Kili had watched and it never failed. No matter what his brother was doing, his eyes would flit over to wherever she was. A small smirk would come to his face before he looked back to his prior occupation.

Fili, of course, believed that no one had noticed anything. However, Kili had always prided himself on his ability to sniff out ways—any and all of them—to possibly tease his brother. He was always going to be the younger brother and he had accepted that truth decades ago with gusto. He'd spent the last seventy some years learning everything there was to know about his brother.

Therefore, he'd noticed.

Poppy chuckled in the warm way she always did when he complimented her or used the word lovely. Her voice was equally teasing when she turned and whispered, "Thank you, Kili. You're _truly_ too kind."

"Oh, I know. I'm told that all the time." Laughing, she rolled her eyes affectionately before falling silent. Taking out his sword, he began cleaning it in the dim light that the slowly weakening fire provided.

From the corner of her eye, Poppy watched him, rather amazed at how alike he and Fili were. They looked different, but just by how they walked and moved one could tell they were brothers. There were definite differences, but in all the important, most basic ways, they were much the same. She and Bilbo had been like that when they were children, except she had been the Kili. She'd been the one never to know what life was like without him, at least not for many years. She suddenly wondered if Kili could ever abandon Fili like she had Bilbo. Even as her mind asked the question, a feeling deep in her chest seriously doubted it.

Noticing her gaze and not being nearly as comfortable with silence as his brother, the dwarf asked with amusement and genuine curiosity, "So how did you do that tonight?" At her frown, he elucidated, "Fight like that. Who taught you before Oin and Bifur?"

Shrugging, she shook her head, "No one. I've never been taught before. I don't think most hobbits realize their walking sticks can be used as weapons." Smiling slightly, she added, "They never have a need."

His hands pausing, his half-cleaned sword resting across his legs, Kili stared at her for a long moment. "You've _never _been trained before…" Again she shook her head. Disbelief beginning to creep into his tone, he pressed on, "_How_? No one under the age of one hundred and fifty has ever beaten my brother when he's using his swords. I can out-shoot him and others can best him when he's using his war hammer, but since uncle gave them to him when we were hardly of age, _no one_ can beat him with his swords. How do you manage in less than two days?"

Smiling at the unconscious pride for his brother in his voice, she said lightly, "I didn't really beat him. If that had been real I would have been dead and Fili would've had a bruise on his throat, nothing more. Bifur and Oin don't have much to work with…"

"But still, you know how to move with that thing," he nodded toward her staff that was laid on the ground beside her.

Shrugging again, she shook her head, "Yes, but…but it's far easier when I have someone with me, someone to look out for. I just stop thinking and my heart starts making the decisions for me."

Kili took a moment to consider that. "You had that tonight. We could all see it. Right before you tackled Fili, you changed. Uncle used to talk about it all the time. It's that point when instinct takes over and your just mind lets your body do its job. He said it's essential in battle."

She looked highly suspicious of her possessing any quality that Thorin found advantageous. Beginning to talk with his hands, Kili gestured as he continued against her skepticism, "And what about the warg? You were protecting Ori then. How many hobbits escape from fights with wargs alive?"

Looking away from him and back down at her wet, bare toes, she replied very quietly, "None, because hobbits don't fight wargs…" Sighing after a moment, she looked back over at him, an oddly intense earnestness in her blue eyes that made Kili feel as if she were about to share something very personal with him. "That warg was my first warg, but I have fought off wolves before. I didn't fight well, but I kept myself alive."

"Where in the Shire were you fighting wolves?" The rolling green land of hobbit holes did not seem the type of place in which anyone suffered from much of anything but the occasional hangover or perhaps a spoiled front walk. Wolves did not fit into the picturesque memory he held of the hobbits' homeland. If Bilbo was an average representation of a hobbit of the Shire, Kili imagined he was right.

She took so long to answer he wondered if she was going to at all. Her voice sounded almost pained, though acquiescent, when she finally replied, "I wasn't in the Shire. I lived in the hills by Lake Evendim for a few years. When winter came so did the wolves."

Kili knew of the lake, as did everyone in the Blue Mountains. The Brandywine flowed from its deep waters. While known as incredibly beautiful, the absence of anyone living there had made the lake's shores and the surrounding hills a haven for wolf packs that came down from the mountains in the winter. That lake was passed by carefully, not lived in for a few years. "What were you doing there?"

"Losing myself."

His sword forgotten in his lap, the dwarf looked at her with growing concern. They were venturing into what he could sense were rather…dark waters. Kili suddenly wished that Fili were awake. He wasn't entirely sure how, but aside from maybe Bifur, his brother had become closer to her than any of them. He'd know what to say, what to do. There was a growing sadness on Poppy's face that he was unsure how to handle.

Finding her blue-eyed gaze an understanding one as she pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her cheek upon them, as if knowing and regretting that she was making him uncomfortable, he queried far more quietly than he was used to, "Why go there, though? The lake is known for how dangerous it is."

Her smile rather empty of any actual happiness, her words were soft, "Living to come back wasn't really part of my plan at the time, Kili."

"But you did…"

He knew it was a stupid thing to say. Obviously she had given she was sitting there right beside him, but his words were beginning to leave him. Though likely in an entirely different way, maybe that's what had Fili staring at her all the time. Poppy had the unnerving and unconscious knack to be able to make words leaving you completely.

Pulling herself back up from the murky place their conversation was going, Poppy smiled genuinely at Kili's concern, "Yes, much to the chagrin of your uncle it appears. So," she nodded to the bow by his side, "why did you want to be an archer? I heard about how you and smithing didn't go so well, but why a bow?"

Accepting the change of topic and mood without any protest, Kili frowned and asked with an accusing stare, "What exactly have you heard…?"

Her sideways grin was contagious as she sat there, refusing to say more. Sighing heavily, the abused fatigue behind it negated by his smile that mirrored hers, he replied, "If you must know, the incident with my first beard was _not_ my fault. Uncle is the smith in the family, not me. Also, if it was Fili that told you, which I have absolutely no doubt that it was, then you should know that he caught his pants on fire his first time. He had to walk home with his shirt tied about his waist to ensure that _every_ inhabitant of the Blue Mountains didn't see unquestionable proof that he is my brother and not my sister. Our mother was very displeased and uncle couldn't stop snickering. It was really quite odd."

She began giggling beside him never taking her eyes from his, the smile on her face silently urging him to continue. Maybe those eyes were what Fili was always looking at. Of course, the blush that rose on her cheeks at the scandalous bit of the story was rather adorable, too. There were so many options to consider and later subtly tease his brother for!

"Anyway, I chose the bow because we need them. Not many dwarves want to cart around a bow and quiver. I learned how to use a sword, too, but…" Looking at the weapon in his lap, absently beginning to clean it again, he continued, "Fili and uncle use swords. Uncle uses a shield, too. For the sake of Mahal, he's _named_ after his shield. Our father rivaled Dwalin with axes. I don't know, everything else seemed to be taken and we always need more archers."

Though she knew the answer, she questioned with a smile as she gently touched the unstrung bow, "So why doesn't it have a string right now? Even I know that it needs a string to work."

Poppy had met her fair share of archers, likely quite more than her fair share, but she continued to ask the dwarf beside her all about his trade, an excitement in his voice at being able to teach someone of something he knew well.

While decidedly more outgoing and far less self-conscious about his role, Kili was more than a bit like Ori. Whether he liked it or not, he was the youngest. He was the youngest in a long, celebrated, glorious line of dwarves, all of whom likely had a legend as big as their beards. As of yet, Kili had foregone the beard and the exact vein of all those glorious ancestors. Who was Poppy to be anything but subtly encouraging to her friend?

For the remainder of Kili's watch he continued talking of archery, answering the many questions she asked and telling stories without much provocation needed.

When he rose to return to his bedroll beside Fili, he smiled as he quietly asked, "Are you coming back to sleep? Fili's up next. He doesn't need your company."

Laughing, she shook her head, "No, I'm still awake. The bunny ruined my beauty sleep quite effectively."

His grin stemming from more than just her joking comment, he nodded, "Good night, Poppy." She wished him one as well when he turned and quietly made his way over a snoring Bombur to his brother. Nudging him with his boot, Kili knelt down when Fili let out a reluctant groan.

"Rise and shine, brother. It's your turn to ensure our safety." After Fili rolled his eyes with a growing smile, Kili allowed a wicked grin to come over his face, "Have a good watch."

Knowing not to trust that smile—it had gotten him into incredibly large mountains of trouble before—Fili frowned as he stood, grabbing his scabbard. "Thanks…"

"You're welcome. Good night, brother." Before the blonde brother could say another word, Kili had flopped down silently onto his side, pulled his blanket up to his chin, and closed his eyes. Muttering with amusement about a lack of sanity, Fili turned to head to the entrance of the cave.

One eye subtly open, Kili watched as a bright smile lit up his brother's face upon seeing Poppy sitting there, if the younger hadn't known better, waiting for him. He continued to observe as Fili sat down, playfully pulling her off her rock to sit closer to him. Quietly giggling, she shoved gently back, coming to rest with her arm brushing against his.

Though their voices were too low to make out everything, Kili listened as his brother complained with a smile, "I'll have you know my wrist is now very bruised thanks to you."

True concern filling her tone, she grabbed at his hand and pulled it toward herself, "Really? I'm sorry!"

She had his fingerless leather glove off and his sleeve pushed up before he could get a word out. Tenderly and regretfully brushing her fingers over the faintly discolored skin, she held his hand in both of hers as she studiously examined it. Kili saw that while her blue eyes were focused on the harm she had inflicted, Fili was staring only at her, a small, oddly content smile on his face.

Not moving to pull his hand away, the dwarf offered with a grin, "It'll be gone by tomorrow, Poppy. I've gotten far worse from Kili punching me when we were kids."

At that, she turned her face up to smile at him with a laugh that he soon joined in, "I'm not sure whether I should be offended by that or not…" There was a comfortable silence that fell as they sat like that without moving, her fingers just continuing to brush over his wrist and palm in lazy circles.

Deciding he had eavesdropped and spied upon Fili and Poppy enough for one night, Kili closed his eye and let sleep begin to once again overtake him, plans of mischief swirling in his brain. Oh yes, there was plenty of potential in making his brother wonder why in the name of Mahal he loved him to be had…

* * *

A/N: Well hello there! Now, look at me being all on top of things and getting my chapter up before 9 in the morning. :) It's wondrous what putting off your German homework for a bit can do. Not that I don't like Durrenmatt and all, but Fili's rather more appealing in my opinion. Also, I proofed and worked very hard to make sure that I didn't accidentally switch up Fili and Kili in this chapter. I love the rhyming names but it can make things very hard to type! So, if Fili miraculously appeared during Kili and Poppy's conversation, I apologize.

Anyway, thank you for all of your wonderful reviews. I'm like a kid at Christmas when I go to my inbox and see that I have unread messages. I start grinning and everything. So, thanks so much for reading, review if you could, and I hope you enjoyed. See you Wednesday. :)


	21. Swept Under

The rain had continued until about noon the day after the company's sojourn into the cave, no one wanting to leave that next morning when they found the water continuing to pour down. For the next two days they had journeyed through to the end of the forest and watched as thick, dark clouds hung lowly over the ever-growing mountains on the horizon. Much to the chagrin of Dori, it appeared they had not seen the last of summer rain.

Sighing sadly, he said as much around the fire that evening, their camp again in a small dell upon the rolling grassy landscape of the Lonelands, "I do wish those clouds would come down from the mountains. I'd rather have rain here than as we go through a high mountain pass."

At the teasing smile that Poppy sent him, the dwarf smiled back across the fire, "You just wait, Poppy. You won't like your precious rain when you're close enough to touch the clouds."

Remaining silent, she just continued smiling and looked back to her work as the nightly storytelling began. Bifur sitting immediately behind her, Bilbo and Bofur on one side, Fili and Kili on the other, she had finished her training that evening with time to spare before sleep overtook her. While she didn't think she was getting any better, her stamina was growing.

Pulling out an old grey wool shirt from her bag, she reached over and gently grabbed Fili's hand, making him start a bit in surprise. Turning his arm over, she carefully pulled out the knife concealed in his gauntlet. Quietly, attempting and failing to understand the warmth that awakened in her stomach, she asked, "May I borrow this?"

Grin having grown wide, he nodded, "Aye, go ahead."

"Thank you." Neither noticed the positively roguish look Kili was giving them. Laying the fabric out before her on the ground, she began to cut, glancing with a discerning eye at Bilbo on occasion as she went. She had extracted two rather half-moon shapes by the time Bofur had concluded the sad though boisterous tale of the first king of the Firebeards. Frowning with arrant confusion when she pinched the two pieces of fabric together and subsequently stuck them on his head, her cousin asked suspiciously, "Poppy…what in the name of the Valar are you doing?"

His wary tone had drawn the attention of the others before she answered with preoccupation, "Making something."

There were a few snickers at that as Bilbo rolled his eyes, "Even _Kili_ can see that."

"Hey!" the dwarf protested from her other side, drawing more laughter, even from her.

"My question is—ow, that's my hair!—what are you making?"

Voice taking on a decidedly maternal heir, she swatted at his hands as he tried to tear the fabric off, "Stop that. Your hair is just fine." Sitting up on her knees, she used her spare needles to pin the two pieces together. Gently poking him when he continued to squirm, she replied with a smile, "I'm sewing you a hat. Yours won't be quite as spectacular, but you can thank Bofur; he was my inspiration."

Grinning cheekily, the storyteller winked at him over his pipe, "You're welcome, lad."

Believing that Bofur looked perfectly fine in his large, outlandish hat, but not at all sure in any way shape or form that he wanted to join in the style himself, Bilbo protested, "Why on earth do I need a hat?"

"Because mountains are cold."

Huffing in frustration as their companions all began laughing again, Bilbo muttered, "Of all the times you choose to be not talkative on this adventure, you have pick the ones that make me look foolish." The bright grin she shot him as she pulled the unfinished present away clearly told him she had intended as much. He sighed heavily again, although the pure happiness behind her smile was consistently draining away any true vexation.

Glancing back, he saw a similar smile on Gandalf's face. The two exchanged a hopeful glance. It was encouraging to see her this way, without all the weight upon her. Bilbo doubted the dwarves noticed. They had not seen how she was before. They had not been there when weeks would pass without a smile gracing her face, without that happy twinkle in her eye appearing. They hadn't been there to see her pain, because somehow their presence, their simple though sometimes delayed acceptance, had brought her back to him.

Cutting off a few stray edges, Poppy reached over once again and replaced Fili's knife in its sheath, the dwarf sending her a small smile though not breaking his conversation with Balin. As she pulled away, her fingertips absently sliding over the leather gauntlet and then the heel of his palm on their way back to her lap, Kili saw his brother gently and subtly close his fingers upon hers for a short moment. Had he not been studiously watching, he wouldn't have noticed the action or the small smile that appeared on Poppy's face. However, he had.

Poppy had pulled out another needle and some thread and was beginning to sew Bilbo's new hat together when conversation was done and there was a slight lull filled only with pipe smoke and the contentment of being among friends. Evil thoughts brewing, Kili finally broke the silence by bringing up a talk that was had every evening. "So, whose turn is it for a night off?"

With thirteen dwarves and usually only around nine or ten hours of watch per night they rotated as to who got to have a night of uninterrupted sleep. After his night of reconnaissance back in the cave, Kili had realized that his brother had not taken a _single_ night off since the evening they attempted to scare Bilbo with the story of orcs. After two days to think about it and some gentle teasing about how close his brother and the hobbit had become that was usually answered with a raised eyebrow and a punch to the shoulder, he had decided that he'd been wrong that night. Perhaps, Poppy had been waiting up for him.

He was going to find out. Nodding, Thorin asked, "Who was it last night?" Dwalin, Balin, and Ori raised their hands. "All right, so-"

Gently cutting his uncle off, Kili grabbed his brother's shoulder and piped up, "Personally, I think Fili should get it because he hasn't taken one in weeks." As Fili turned his head ever so slightly and fixed him with a murderous glare, he saw Poppy stiffen slightly, just enough to be visible. There was an expression in her blue eyes that was something akin to fear. Noticing everyone's stares, he continued helpfully, "Aye, I'm not kidding. Fili, you really need to stop volunteering for all these things. Really, you have nothing to prove, brother."

As Fili's glare turned into one of slight helplessness, Kili's smile widened. As Fili was explaining with as much nonchalance as he could muster, "I don't mind. I really don't," the younger brother felt a sharp, hard kick to his back. Turning about, he saw Bifur in the darkness, his glare rivaling that of Thorin's and a menacing growl escaping his throat. He gave a harsh shake of his head, the axe in his forehead seeming angry with him as well as it moved with the dwarf. Tilting his head as he frowned, Kili tried silently to ask the older dwarf why he was so upset, but Bifur had no chance.

The damage had been done.

Though allowing his older nephew to finish his protests that he didn't mind, Thorin said with a sense of finality and pride, "You can have the night off Fili. You've done well, so you should get a rest."

"There's nothing better than a full night's sleep, lad," Balin added. "You'll miss them before too long."

Caught between complete and utter just disbelief in his mind at the thought of not spending that night's hour with Poppy and happiness at the pride in his uncle's voice, Fili managed a grateful-looking smile, "Thank you, uncle."

Fili found himself having trouble sleeping when he laid down that night, Kili and Thorin on either side of him.

It felt incredibly more than odd not to be getting up for watch. Despite being on a quest, an adventure like none he'd ever had before, he'd become fond of the routine they'd developed. He had nothing against some spontaneity, but as he laid there on his back, staring up at the stars blinking down upon them, he missed the routine…he missed Poppy.

Much of him felt really quite foolish. How could something that had been occurring for less than three weeks have ingrained itself so deeply into his mind? Dwarves were not known for their quickness to anything but anger and likely ale. With every emotion except the necessary desire to protect their brethren they were practically glacial. The older the dwarf, the slower he was generally, likely explaining why Thorin had yet to give up telling Poppy to leave every night.

Friendship was just as slow with dwarves as anything else, but the circumstances of the quest had changed things. It was different when you were with someone all day, every day. It was different when you both had the same purpose, the same drive. He hadn't really known Dori and Ori before the quest, but before they even got to the Shire, they were as close as kin should be.

It was different when a person continually kept proving that her sense of loyalty was as strong as yours, despite knowing those she sought to protect for miniscule percentages of what you'd known them for. It was different when you sat up for an hour in the middle of the night every night with someone, finding an odd sense of contentment in the silence of just sitting together, not necessarily needing to talk. Poppy was just different.

His nephew's restlessness waking him, Thorin asked in a gruff, sleep-filled whisper, "What's wrong, Fili?"

Not turning his head to look at him, the younger dwarf answered, "Nothing. I'm just used to being awake right now."

Smirking slightly, an expression that said exactly who Kili got his family resemblance from no matter how rarely is graced Middle Earth with its presence, he grasped Fili's shoulder and gave it an encouraging squeeze, "You and your brother have done well and I'm proud of you. You deserve the night off, Fili. Get some sleep."

Drawing his hand back, Thorin closed his eyes so as not to embarrass his nephew by seeing the blush of pride that appeared on his face.

Not ten feet away, Poppy was listening to the entire exchange, sleep coming slowly to her as well. Bifur had rolled over at one point, covering her feet with his cloak to ward away the growing nightly chill from the mountains. He'd watched her with mild worry as she continued staring upwards, quite unsure of what to do with herself. He had since fallen asleep after she gave him a small smile to say she was all right.

She would be, of course, but there was a part of her that felt indescribably displeased with the idea of not having Fili and their small time together to look forward to. Oddly enough, that part of her resided somewhere deep within her chest, in that place where all her split-second, not-thought-through decisions came from. After fifteen years in the Old Forest and a few in various places before, she'd come to listen to that deep, hidden part far more than she had before. Or, rather, it had just gotten far louder, not giving her the option of ignoring it.

It certainly wouldn't kill her, but Fili's night off, being separated from him like that, made that place ache. Sighing silently into the night, she turned her head and looked across their dim camp, bodies, bellies, and beards making dark silhouettes from where she laid.

Her eyes flitting from one companion to another, unconsciously making a count of them, they eventually came to rest on a blonde-haired lump between Kili and Thorin. She found him quite awake and looking back at her. For a long moment, they just gazed at one another, both rather unhappy with the course of the evening. In an unusual change, she smiled first, the expression growing into a warm grin. He smiled widely back after a moment, winking at her through the space if only because he knew it made her face flush. Shaking her head in something that had long ago stopped being irritation, she rolled her eyes affectionately.

At a slight shift and a loud snort from Bombur between them, they both rolled over, hoping to find sleep easier to find. Though she felt better in the length of the watch that it took for sleep to finally find her, the ache in Poppy's chest remained. For whatever reason, she had the sinking feeling that the day before them would not bring her good tidings.

* * *

Much to her pleasant surprise, Poppy awakened the next morning to find a bird again perched upon her shoulder, loudly and musically welcoming the day. When she turned her head to look at it, the bluebird cocked its head, tweeted once and then took flight. Smiling, she pushed herself up and gave Bifur a nod of good morning.

It was truly a beautiful day. Perhaps the odd feeling she had was wrong.

After readying the always friendly ponies for their day and acquiring her breakfast, she set off across the grassy hills. They were again coming upon some trees and she was excited to reach them.

Upon returning to the group around midday, Kili dropped back next to her, Fili beside him and looking incredibly unhappy. The darker dwarf appeared to be floating upon clouds, however, when he asked with extreme joviality, "Poppy! My lovely Poppy, how did you sleep? I, myself, slept wonderfully."

Beside her Bifur grunted dangerously. Frowning, she looked over Minty's neck as she petted the pony to find Fili's eyes. With an uncertain expression, she silently asked if this meant what she thought it did. He gave a nod. Kili knew and the night before had indeed been all his fault. He was being ornery on purpose. The younger dwarf appeared to be incredibly pleased with himself as he watched the exchange, a knowing smile appearing.

Glancing to the staff in her hand, she looked back to Fili and raised a questioning eyebrow. A smile appeared on her friend's face and he nodded. Between them, Kili was not lucky enough to understand what that meant. Simultaneously, Fili reached out with his fist and Poppy with her staff, both whacking him harshly on the shoulder.

"Ow!"

Leaving Kili angrily rubbing his shoulders and Bifur huffing with laughter, she bounded forward a few feet and handed Bombur the onions she had found that morning before once again leaving their company to a good many farewells.

She was on the hunt for more goodies for Bombur later that afternoon when she came across it.

Trampled into the leftover mud and yellowed grass were harsh, deep tracks cutting a messy path through the ground. Normally, she would have taken them as evidence of a herd of deer. However, she had yet to see any other sign of deer since they had left the woods. Plus, deer did not move in straight lines…nor did they have claws attached to paw that were twice as large as her feet to rend deeply into the soil.

Completely shoving the idea of finding food aside, she followed them, her staff in her hand in preparation for…anything. That ache that told her the day was not going to be a good one rose straight up into her throat as she ran alongside her discovery, worry beginning to invade her every thought.

Wargs were not a good thing by themselves. Wargs in a pack were far, far worse. She could think of no other explanation for the tracks. They were too big to be wolves and too orderly, albeit not exactly disciplined, to be unguided. Trying with all her might to rein in her thoughts, a lack of imminent danger allowing all her worst ideas to sprint off as far as they could, she at least managed to stay quiet as she continued farther and farther from the path her companions had taken.

She had gone what she estimated was six or seven miles before finding a terminus of the trail. In a dell not unlike the one she and the others had camped in the night before were the remnants of a campsite. This one, however, was a ramshackle affair that had not been well broken that morning. The fire still smoked slightly, its embers not having been put out. Discarded remains of carcasses of small animals were strewn about, apparently having fed both the wargs and their riders.

Poppy's breath caught as she knelt in the faint protection of a lone bush. Nothing moved and the wind had died, though the birds still sang. Mind telling her that the camp had been deserted, that nothing was going to jump out and eat her, her chest was practically dancing with fear and worry, though not for herself.

Someone, someone who rode wargs, was following them. She hadn't the faintest idea why the group had yet to attack unless they quite simply couldn't find them. From the camp, the tracks moved north, the wargs' riders apparently deciding that the dwarves would take that route closer to the mountains. As terrible images of wargs attacking the company began to fill her mind, one thought rose up from that aching place.

Whispering entirely to herself from her hiding place, Poppy breathed, "I have to tell Thorin."

Standing and tightening her pack onto her back, she began to run. They had to know. Focusing only on her own breathing and the ground beneath her sprinting feet, she made her way over the rolling ground and only pressed on faster when she reached the trees, their shade bringing some comfort to her screaming lungs.

The sun was beginning its descent when she finally skidded to a stop, her chest heaving, her feet aching, and the blood rushing through her ears… Even when she stopped, the rushing sound did not. Skin paling and blue eyes widening to the point where her vision swam, a strangled sob escaped her. Of all the times… Of _all_ blooming the times!

The aching part of her complained at her terrible luck, but even it could not make itself heard in her mind as her temples began to pound, a migraine of epic proportions setting in as her fear settled into its place, spreading outward like a disease to every muscle and nerve she possessed.

Before her, rushing along with white caps and a strong, fast current, was a river. It easily spanned the width of ten yards and through the water she could not see the bottom. As she stood there, beginning to shake, Poppy's body forgot to breathe. It was too scared to breathe as the unforgettable feeling of water filling her lungs washed over her, knocking every logical, sane thought from her mind.

Tears beginning to course down her face and a pair of blue eyes staring at her from her terror-struck imagination, she stood paralyzed on the bank for a length of time she couldn't guess. Her eyes even scrunched themselves shut as she crumpled to the ground, her knees shaking too dangerously to keep her upright. The blue eyes continued staring, the loving look within them tearing at her soul, the crushing feel of water rushing up into her nose and mouth as she sobbed.

Fighting valiantly through the hysteria screaming and clamoring through her every pore, her heart prodded at her that she had to get to the company, had to tell Thorin, had to find Bilbo and protect him.

Letting out a few shaky, tear-riddled breaths, she crawled toward the edge, her overwhelming terror fighting her every move. Gingerly, she put her hand into the water. It was cool…just like the other water had been. Still trembling, she pulled out her staff and placed it into the water, attempting to gauge its depth.

The rushing current reached almost two thirds of the way up. The water would easily be up to her chest should she…_no_, no _when_ she attempted to cross. Her terror screamed at her to reject that dedication, to turn back, curl up into a ball and sob until she was no more, until all the pain had gone, all the memories had left, all the until she was just as dead and numb as she had been before.

"I can sob when I get across," Poppy muttered to herself, the blue eyes still staring at her in her mind taking on an encouraging air, that aching place managing to take back a tenuous hold on her sanity. She could sob when she had Bilbo again. She could sob when she had Fili there to smile at her. She could sob when she'd gotten to them.

Pushing herself waveringly to her feet like a small child, she took her first step down the gently sloping bank. Pushing through the chaos in her brain, she forced herself to take another…and then another…and another after that. Closing her eyes, she used her staff as a guide, a pillar of support, as the water rose higher and higher.

For a split second, her heart, her sense, had won completely when the water had reached her chest and she had kept going, as the water had begun to recede. For a split second, she could see herself conquering the terror. But just as the heroes' in all Bofur's stories did, her moment of pure and unadultered hope came swiftly to an end.

Her foot slipped upon an algae-covered rock resting in the dirt of the riverbed. Her grip upon everything faltered as she felt herself go sideways, as she felt the water pick her up and force her upon its way. As it rushed over her face, pushing her down into the dark, she screamed, water pouring into her mouth.

As she clawed frantically for purchase on something, _anything,_ and only found thin air, she felt her grip upon her sanity slip, the terror of a fifteen year old hobbit overtaking her, drowning her under its inescapable weight…

* * *

A/N: Why hello there. So, here we are. That last bit was harder to write than I thought, but I present it to you now. By all means, please let me know what you think! On another note, my area is set to have a rather large snowstorm this week, so maybe, just maybe, I'll manage to have a snowday for the third year in college in a row. I would appreciate this greatly weather-gods. Anyway, thanks so much for reading, review if the desire takes you (I'll answer last chapter's today, I promise), and I hope you enjoyed. :)


	22. Cold As Stone

"Gandalf, when did you say we were going to reach the river?" Bilbo asked that afternoon, apprehension and worry beginning to creep into his tone after Balin had noted that the trees they had entered seemed to him to indicate some kind of water source. They were taller and greener than the others had been the entire way across the Lonelands, their woods lusher after a few miles than the others had been. Perhaps they were reaching the Hoarwell, the dwarf had suggested. Bilbo had paled. "How far away is it?"

Not yet understanding his smaller companion's growing worry, the wizard replied, "Quite soon. I should say with moments, actually. Do you not hear the sound of the water?"

Once he listened for it, the hobbit did indeed hear it. A shudder running through him, his mouth opened in slight shock. They were that close? Furthermore, it was _that_ loud? What kind of river was that loud? The Brandywine certainly wasn't and even with a bridge that one proved a stiff challenge…although perhaps the added horrible memories contributed to that.

His stomach turning repeatedly over, Bilbo chewed on his lip, at a complete loss for what to do. Poppy wasn't there. She couldn't have crossed, but she wasn't there yet… After her last visit to them just after noon, she had stayed within sight, as the gently rolling hills of the terrain allowed. She'd even been ahead of them at one point. Somewhere in there, however, she had disappeared. They had briefly paused when Ori's pony Bella had stumbled upon a stray branch, Thorin allowing a short time for her to recover. Perhaps she could have made her way ahead of them…? He had absolutely no idea where she could be, how far she could have gotten. Bilbo felt his stomach decisively drop down into his toes, dread coming over him.

If she wasn't there on that bank, then she was not there yet. The last thing she needed was to be forced to cross alone… Bilbo's mind continued whirring with unpleasant possibilities, unpleasant consequences.

"What's the matter, lad? Rivers not your cup of tea?" Dwalin queried with a smirk as the trees came to an end and the river lay before them, rushing past in the wild sort of beauty rivers possessed.

Voice shakier than he would have preferred, Bilbo could only shake his head. "No. No, as a matter of fact, they're not. Hobbits dislike rivers…" At that, the wizard whirled about on his steed, finally understanding. A similar fear was mirrored in his eyes.

Thorin frowned up at the wizard's abrupt action and the positively petrified expression he and the hobbit shared. Not wishing to try and delve into the wizard's brain and find himself yet again patronized or waste any further time, leaving the ponies damp and chilled if they had to stop for the night too soon, the king urged his pony forward. "Let's go. It's not too deep for the ponies to cross and the current isn't unmanageable."

"I-I think we should wait…" The hobbit's voice was still shaky, clearly worried and frightened of something, though Thorin did not turn about to see how Bilbo's eyes were not on the water. Far from it, they were looking back into the underbrush, searching for any sign of his cousin.

Believing his hesitance to be another product of the hobbit's ill-suited nature for the wild, he snapped back, "I, however, do not think that, Mister Baggins. Dwalin, help him with his pony if he needs it. Let's go."

The others wishing to get crossing the chill and inconvenience of the river out of the way, they followed Thorin without second thoughts. Coming up beside the hobbit, Bofur patted his arm encouragingly, "It'll be fine, Bilbo. It's not taller than you at any rate. Myrtle there will get you safely over. You needn't worry."

The kind dwarf's sentiments were ignored, much to the others' surprise. The hobbit didn't even flash a resigned smile or give a exhaustion-laden comeback. He didn't even glance at Bofur as Myrtle followed her brethren toward the rushing current. Desperately looking about in the forest, Bilbo began to call as the tall, tattooed dwarf took hold of Myrtle's bridle and led them both forward, the water soon rushing over the pony's hooves, "Poppy! POPPY!"

Glaring harshly back as he had to press his mount forward, the beast disliking having its nose wetted, Thorin barked, "Quiet! We do not need the entire world knowing we're here. She'll find and follow us soon enough. She always does. With that staff of hers she'll have no problem getting herself across."

Not in the slightest bit frightened by the dwarf's heavy tone, Bilbo protested with clear preoccupation before shouting out her name again, "You don't understand. She won't follow. She _can't_… POPPY!"

"Then more's the better. She'll go back home where she belongs," the dwarf growled. "Now shut it!"

Bilbo paid him no mind. Even as the water ran over his hairy feet and toes and then receded as Myrtle gained a tenuous hold on the mud with her hooves, he was answered only with the echo of his own voice and the sound of that terrible water. The others beginning to look at him with concern, Fili asked slowly, beginning to look behind them apprehensively as well, "Bilbo, why are you so worried?"

"You wouldn't understand. POPPY!" The hobbit's sharp tone causing him to recoil, Fili pulled Moira back, falling back to the end of the line beside a troubled Bifur.

Gandalf glanced between the increasingly angry king beside him and the panicking hobbit behind him, for one of the few times in his long life completely unsure of what to do. Little Anna would not do well without help, but he was not sure if he could convince Thorin to wait for her without revealing every dark bit of her fears. After all the progress she had made, the friendships she had forged, the pity that would greet her would send her right back into the shell she had built so strongly.

"POPPY!"

At the hobbit's refusal to turn around or pay attention in the slightest bit to anything the others were saying and doing, Dwalin kept a firm hold on Myrtle's bridle. "She'll be fine, lad. Stop your blooming worrying. Can't she swim?"

"Well, yes, but-"

Sending a sharp look forward, Gloin cut him off, "See, she'll have no problem."

Almost growling in frustration, the hobbit cursed the stubbornness of dwarves, the worry on some of their faces escaping him. Bilbo continued calling for his cousin, confusing poor Myrtle as he pulled backward on her reins and Dwalin pulled onward. The river had fallen out of sight, nearly a mile behind as he was pulled forward, and a deep panic was settling in his chest. Poppy hadn't answered, Thorin looked nearly ready to strike him, and the last thing he wanted to do was reveal her deepest fears to the dwarves about them. Turning about forward, he sent a pleading look at Gandalf.

Wrinkled face far paler than what was considered usual, the old wizard suggested quietly, "Thorin, just give him a few minutes to go back and get her, wait for her to reach him. You'll only lose an hour at most." He hoped he was right with the times, having no real idea of how long this would take.

Thorin saw his uncertainty, however. Though he still wished with all his being that she would just go back to the safety of her home, the hobbit lass had proved herself capable of taking care of herself. What was one little river? Frowning mightily, the king drew his pony to a halt and ordered, his voice growing ever louder, "We will _not_ wait for her. We will _not_ waste out time on her. She is not worth the hour we'd spend waiting for her. Gandalf, you won't stop talking about her abilities as a forester and Bilbo, you're the one who won't tell her to do the sensible thing and go back. Therefore, she'll be fine. She's _not_ worth it and I won't have it!"

An expression of pure rage washing over Bilbo's face as his fear and worry boiled up and over the extent of his emotions, he shouted back, "SHUT UP!"

Any and all life in those trees immediately froze and silenced itself. The earth itself seemed to hold its breath as Thorin turned about in the saddle, indignant disbelief upon his face. From beside Bilbo, Kili whispered anxiously, "Oh _shite_…"

Anger and fear for his cousin making him brave, Bilbo continued yelling before Thorin could get a word out, "She is my cousin and I am NOT losing her again! Just because every piece of you is hewn from unfeeling stone doesn't mean I'm leaving her there alone!"

Voice going to a place so dangerously low it seemed as if it could make stones tremble, the king threatened in response to the barb that made certain parts of his apparently unfeeling insides twitch with hurt, "Unless I am very much mistaken, Mister Baggins, I am the leader of this company and you are _just_ the burglar. Your precious cousin will be fine. Now take up your reins and come along before I tie you to Myrtle and drag you along behind!"

"NO!" Not having the presence of mind to back down, Bilbo and Thorin began to stare one another down. Had there been a mountain between them, Gandalf had no doubt it would have been crumbled into fine dust.

In an incredible show of bravery, Kili urged his pony forward, putting himself in the dangerous place between the hobbit and his uncle. He suggested haltingly as the others stared at him with disbelief and growing admiration, "B-Bilbo, why don't you tell us why you're so worried…"

Even with Kili's words, the tension was palpable to the point of unbearable. Under normal circumstances, Bofur would make a witty comment, they would hesitantly laugh, and then everything would be fine. However, Bilbo screaming at Thorin was not a normal circumstance. The dwarves held their breath, the tension too heavy to breathe.

From where he sat upon his pony, Bifur scrutinized the hobbit's face. Something was very wrong. He was excitable by nature it seemed, every other animal throwing him for a loop, but this was different. Upon looking forward, he found the wizard's face. There was fierce conflict occurring on his wizened features, his concern for his little Anna warring with a need to ensure Thorin and Bilbo did not kill one another.

"It's none of your business," Bilbo bit back at Kili, not taking his eyes from Thorin. "It's none of _his_ business! He doesn't care anyway."

Growling with anger, the king screamed back, "If I was really made of stone, Mister Baggins, then I would not be trying to make her go home where it is safe!"

Too angry to recognize the effort on the dwarf's part to acknowledge the concern harbored for his cousin or how he appeared ready to hurl an axe at the smaller being, Bilbo spat with rising hysteria, "If you weren't made of stone you wouldn't be making her face a river alone! If you had any decency you wouldn't make her feel like she was worthless!"

Taking advantage of how no one could look away from the enraged hobbit, Bifur gently urged his pony forward. Taking Fili's arm, he nodded back toward the river with the simple quiet words of, "_You're her favorite. Let's go, lad._"

Nodding through his complete and utter disbelief at what was occurring right in front of his eyes, the younger dwarf followed him without a word as they pushed their ponies to a swift trot. While he hoped that Bilbo wasn't dead and buried by the time they returned, Fili's mind was soon far more filled with worries of the girl he sat up with through watch every night, who made part of his chest begin to dance whenever she looked at him. Bilbo and Thorin could battle it out. He was going to follow Bifur and that pull in his chest that was tugging him back toward the river.

Their departure remained completely unnoticed when the hobbit's voice again rang through the trees. Practically bouncing in poor Myrtle's saddle, causing her to shy uncomfortably to the side, he shouted lividly, his face red with anger and his heart pounding in his chest, "If you had the capacity to feel and to remember what it felt like to watch your grandfather be murdered in front of you, then you wouldn't make her relive having her mother drown in her arms!"

Bilbo froze as soon as the words left his mouth, a horrified squeak following them as he and everyone else forgot how to breathe for a moment. "Oh shite. I…I wasn't going to tell you that…"

"Well, it's rather late for you to begin thinking through your words," Thorin commented darkly, though immediately after he ordered, "Three of us will go back for Poppy. The rest of you will go ahead with Gandalf and find camp for the night. I will personally deliver her into your arms. Is that acceptable to you, Mister Baggins?"

Flushing bright red, realizing just how very far he had pushed Thorin, Bilbo nodded wordlessly.

Commenting as his companions began to look about, most taking a tighter hold on their reins as if in preparation to join Thorin, Bofur said, "Fili and Bifur have already gone back for her."

"I'll catch up to them. The rest of you get going." Glancing up at Gandalf, the dwarf muttered, "Don't you dare say a word." The wizard, looking incredibly relieved, merely inclined his head before turning his horse forward and leading the company onward.

The ride forward was deathly quiet for a long length of time, before Bofur finally broke it. "Well, Bilbo, I'd say it's a pretty good bet you're going to be the storyteller tonight."

Bilbo let out a groan of shame. Running a worried hand through his hair, he looked backward, "I just hope they find her before anything happens…."

"Why?" Ori queried, his voice high with distress. "She won't drown. You-You said she can swim." Both Dori and Nori put comforting, calming hands upon their brother's shoulders, though concern was etched deeply across their expressions as well when they waited for Bilbo to respond.

"She can swim; she just won't. Her-Her fear won't let her. If she goes under, she won't be Poppy anymore. I'll have lost her again…"

As the hobbit blinked furiously against tears, unsure he could handle his cousin being lost to him again, Balin appeared beside him. "She'll be all right, lad. I promise she'll be all right." As Dori and Nori had done for their brother, Balin squeezed his shoulder, "Bifur and Fili would drown themselves in that river themselves before they let something happen to her. And Thorin is far too stubborn to not keep his word; that I promise you. She'll be fine and you'll have her back beside you before dinner."

With all his being, Bilbo hoped the dwarf was right.

* * *

A/N: Well hello there. So, first off, please do not hate me for leaving Poppy floating in the current, as it were. Some lovely, irritating snow day lethargy attacked. Plus, I've never been very comfortable in my fight-writing. Give me a battle and I can hack people to death with whatever kind of weapon you give me, but you want to be logical and shout things through you say? ...I'll take the violent belligerence. Also, while Bilbo was really very mellow in the movie, his protective instinct about his cousin rose up with a vengeance, quite without my initial approval.

Anyway, this is what I present at your lovely feet, my readers. Please, spare me too much anger. :) Thank you for all your lovely reviews (I'm going off to answer them right after this is posted) and to all you lurkers. Thanks so much for reading everyone, leave a review if you could, and I hope you enjoyed. Until Sunday. :)


	23. Drowning

When Thorin and his winded pony reached the Hoarwell once again, a thick frown was still upon his face. He didn't care what Gandalf said, those damned hobbits were really beginning to wear upon his nerves and sanity! They were far too loyal, too determined, and too perceptive for their own good. He couldn't remember being yelled at in such a way, having any and every mistake he'd made toward a person being hurled into his face more potently than any fist, since Dis had been pregnant with Fili and then Kili, her hormones causing any qualms she had about shouting at him blow away with the harsh mountain wind.

He supposed he should have expected something that involved Poppy and him getting put into his place to remind him of his sister. Though after their father's death he'd been more actively involved, Fili and Kili's upbringing and the incredible young dwarves they had become was all credited to Dis. She had a strength that made him look like Bilbo in comparison…at least, that's what he would've thought until the quarter of an hour before. He honestly hadn't thought the hobbit had the ability to yell, let alone steal Kili's profanity.

In another irritating turn of irony, just like when Dis berated him, he had sternly and soundly deserved what Bilbo had thrown at him and he knew it. Though Poppy was not a member of the company—he was _not_ yet willing to concede that—she was basically their charge. He had a responsibility to look after her…and he had blatantly said that she wasn't worth the time it would take to ride back. Bilbo's words had not made him feel the slightest bit better as they argued, the hobbit pointing out the cold aloofness that he'd held onto for decades and then bringing Thror into it… No, no he would not wish that sight or the toxic memory that remained upon anyone.

Had he known about her dislike, had he known about her fear, had he known about her mother, he would have…

Pulling his pony to a sharp halt upon the bank with a self-deprecating groan, Thorin shook the thoughts from his mind. What _would_ he have done? Would he have put the loyal little hobbit before the quest to regain his home and kingdom for that afternoon? He supposed the worst part was that he—a dwarf who wanted to become king, who wanted to rule a land and lead a people, who wanted that responsibility upon his broad shoulders—he did not honestly know.

That so many of the others had looked ready to turn back without a second thought shamed him. He was the one who believed himself noble, honorable, and yet his own nephews had so very clearly outdone him. Kili had attempted to deescalate the situation and Fili…Fili hadn't even waited to hear a reason why she needed them. He just went.

No, the occurrences of the last half an hour were not Thorin Oakenshield's finest, though he knew that his stubbornness was not going to let him _ever_ admit it. Dismounting and running up to Bifur, the king set himself to making up for it by the next half hour. "Have you found her?" he questioned of the warrior.

A swift shake of the head provided his answer. Pointing upstream, Bifur barked, "_Fili is checking that way. We're going downriver. The current is swift. She might be…_" A part of the dwarf's face crumpled and his mouth shut abruptly before the word 'gone' could be said in any language. He was not allowing it to become a possibility.

Saying no more, Thorin nodded. Both searching the racing water for some sign of brown hair, big feet, and blue eyes, they began forward. They had not gone far when Fili's horrified shout turned them about and sent them racing upstream, "_POPPY_!"

Moira at his side, clomping along leisurely beside him despite his rapid pace, Fili's hazel eyes were so ceaselessly scanning the river and both its banks that he was beginning to feel slightly dizzy. Though he and Bifur had only caught a stunted part of Bilbo's last words, they had both easily heard 'mother drown'. Even though Poppy had never spoken of rivers or any particular fear of them in all the hours they had spoken and been together, Fili could tell by her cousin's reaction that something incredibly bad was afoot.

One thing Fili had learned about his hobbit was that Poppy had fears, a good many of them just like everyone else, but she never spoke of them. She wouldn't mention them unless something in that overly large heart of hers believed that a sense of solidarity was needed, that the other person would be comforted by her confession. Thick, ugly dread and distress that he hadn't realized it before, that he had just blindly crossed the river despite Bilbo's protests, was churning in his stomach far more strongly than the water before him.

A whicker at his side brought his chaotic attention back into one vision as sharp as a sword point. As Moira trotted anxiously forward, dipping her hooves into the current and whinnying urgently, he stood frozen for what felt like the longest second of his life up until that point.

Hair soaked and floating freely behind her and her staff clutched in one hand, Poppy was stuck in the middle of the water, arms wrapped for dear life around a rock jutting above the surface. From the blood flowing down from her temple, it appeared she had found her handhold quite violently. Her eyes were tightly closed, tears streaming out of them, and her mouth was silently muttering words he couldn't make out. In an odd, tragic sort of way she looked like a small child clinging to the stuffed toy she chose to share her hearts with through a nightmare.

"POPPY!"

Pushing past his pony and jumping into the water, Fili didn't waste another moment. Not even taking the fraction of a second it would take to unbuckle his scabbard or kick off his boots, he jumped straight in. The water rushed past him up to his ribs, the current starting a spiteful duel with his footing. Growling at it, daring the river to try and stop him, he pushed forward. Though he was pushed downstream a few times then had had to fight the current back, he finally made it to Poppy's rock, grabbing it with one hand and taking her face in his other.

"Poppy…?" Above the crashing of the water, the continued whinnying of Moira, and what sounded like Bifur and his uncle arriving, he was shocked to find his voice so scared, so very audibly scared, especially when she did not move, didn't respond to him at all. Somehow, she managed to wake up every night at the sound of his voice, how she couldn't even explain, but at that moment when he was trying to save her, her eyes didn't even move beneath their lids. Something was terribly wrong. Feeling the blood drain from his face, he quickly gathered her up in his arms, nestling the soaked hobbit's face in the crook of his neck.

He waded back with more trouble, no longer having his arms to help him. Before he'd even acknowledged their presences, both Bifur and Thorin had leapt into the water, each taking one of his arms. By sheer force of will the three of them pulled through the current that had somehow turned far more menacing, far more malevolent than when they had crossed..

Panting, Fili fell to his knees in the mud of the bank, gently lying Poppy before him. Her mutterings had stopped, but she had yet to move even an eyelid. He couldn't clearly make out if her chest was rising, if she was breathing. Quite unbidden, he felt tears rise up in the corners of his eyes, hysteria starting to bubble up.

She couldn't be dead! Poppy _could not_ be dead! She could _not _have died while he was trying to save her. She just couldn't.

Bending down and holding his ear over her mouth, listening for some sound of life, Bifur also paled. A curse too harsh to ever have been written down in Khuzdul escaped the warrior's mouth, his words clearly terrified above all else. With Thorin prying her staff out of her hand, Bifur pulled her up into a sitting position and clapped her harshly on the back. Normally, he'd do so on her chest, but Bifur was worried they'd break her ribs and subsequently pierce her heart. The various terrible possibilities refused to stop streaming through his mind.

After one severe hit that she would no doubt gain bruises from, a harsh, water-logged cough ripped from her throat. Bifur held her as she hacked, expelling the liquid that had tried to kill her. The older dwarf couldn't keep his hand from reaching out and gently stroking her hair.

Slowly, she opened her eyes, blinking them as one would when emerging into the daylight after being in a dark room. She acknowledged none of them, instead staring past Fili's relieved face with wide eyes. Reaching out a hand toward it as if she were in a trance, she leaned toward the water. Surprised at the odd movement, Bifur released her, wondering what was going through her fear-riddled head.

In a show of speed none of them expected, she launched herself back toward the current. Reacting out of pure instinct, Fili leapt after her, managing to tackle her before she hit the water. A blood-curdling scream escaped her lips as she clawed at the mud, struggling manically against his hold with all her might in her attempt to get back to the blue eyes that stared at her from the water, to relieve the guilt in her chest.

"_MUM_!"

As her fighting body began to heave with sobs, Fili felt his tears begin from where he'd buried his face in her back as he held her about the waist. The pure and all-consuming grief in her voice tore at his heart. That so much pain could be held in one little being was soul-rending. He held her there, arms wrapped around her half to keep her from drowning herself and half in a hug, attempting with everything he had to simply let her know that he was there.

Thorin looked on with shock as the girl at their feet completely and utterly broke down before them, sobs beginning to overtake her continued screams for her mother. Had he not felt guilty enough for leaving her to tackle the river alone, he was dangerously close to being overcome by it as he watched her. With his nephew wrapped around her, occasionally whispering comforting words in Khuzdul, she quieted. Her fingers stopped clenching at the mud for purchase and her usually so soft voice withered away into weak, stifled keens.

Only then did the blonde dwarf pull himself up, gently bringing her with him. When he tried to set her on her own feet, Poppy collapsed back down, her face completely devoid of everything but her continuing tears. Quite suddenly Thorin understood what Bilbo had meant by losing his cousin to the river. He hoped for her sake and their burglar's that the hobbit could bring her back. At the pained but determined expression on Fili's face, he extended that hope for his nephew as well.

Taking Poppy up into his arms and handing her to Bifur, Fili drew Moira close and mounted as the pony blew worriedly in the hobbit's face. The animal looked decidedly put out when she was not answered with a scratch of some kind. Without a word from any of them, Bifur handed the hobbit back. He and Thorin then climbed up on their own steeds. Fili found it incredibly cumbersome attempting to situate his lifeless friend without any terrible discomfort on her part. With a deep sigh, he finally just set her upon his lap with her facing his chest. While she still said nothing and those blue eyes still didn't look at him, her arms wrapped around him. Her tear-streaked face weakly pressed itself into the leather of his armor. He swore she relaxed ever so slightly when he rested his chin upon her hair as he did so often at night.

It was a painfully silent ride to find where the others had set up camp, the stillness only broken by the occasional sob from Poppy and the so very inappropriately happy singing of birds.

They found the others nestled in a round dell, much like the ones they usually stayed in. Kili was the first to spot them, a happy shout coming from his mouth, informing the others that they'd returned, Poppy intact. The only ones who did not positively sprint to the edge of camp to greet them were Bilbo and Gandalf. The wizard stayed at the hobbit's side, a comforting hand upon his shoulder.

The hobbit's eyes were wide though not surprised at the state of his beloved cousin. With a deep sigh that appeared to be warding off tears, he slowly made his way through the crowd of dwarves who had all fallen silent as their greetings were not returned. Taking her from his nephew, Thorin immediately handed Poppy to her cousin, silently keeping his previous promise. He was not nearly so smug about it as he might have been, however.

Bilbo took her weight with some initial difficulty but then asked with a tone that clearly said he knew the answer, "She went under didn't she."

The dwarf king's answer was sympathetic, though matter of fact. Expressing too much would not help Bilbo keep up a strong front. That fact he knew well. "Yes. She made it halfway across. Gandalf, you should take a look at her temple. She hit a rock."

Looking to the three of them before turning and taking her to where he had placed his things beside Gandalf's, Bilbo inclined his head, "Thank you."

"So Bilbo, lad," Bofur began that night after supper, the smoke of his and the others' pipes doing little to relax his nerves. Painfully little had been said before his words, everyone looking on with worry and sympathy at the two hobbits. Poppy had yet to speak, eat, move, or even look at any of them. As soon as Bilbo had set her down and removed her soaked pack, she'd curled into a ball on her side. In a similar silence, Bilbo sat beside her, pulling her head up into his lap and stroking her hair as Gandalf bandaged her injury, looking as helpless as he felt.

"Would ye mind telling us…?" The usually eloquent dwarf felt his words desert him and he didn't have the heart to finish.

Looking down to the form in his lap, Bilbo whispered gently, "Do you want me to?" An almost imperceptible nod followed by a brand new round of tears answered him.

Voice sounding much like a storyteller who had completely run out of happy stories and was beginning to collapse under the weight of all his sad ones, the hobbit began. "When Poppy was fifteen, we were going to visit our relatives in Buckland, that small land we went through between the Brandywine and the Old Forest. My mother, her mother, she and I were all going. My mother had forgotten something, so the two of us turned back that morning. We were going to catch up later. There is a ferry that takes one across the Brandywine to the south of the bridge. Given that we hobbits as a race fear swimming and most disliked using the ferry, it wasn't used by most. People were too scared. But Aunt Belinda was not an average hobbit. She…" a slight smile appeared on his face at the memory of her.

"She was like no one else, Aunt Belinda. She was fearless." Glancing down at his cousin, his smile became stronger, "There is a reason that Poppy is as wonderful as she is." Not a dwarf there could ward off the warmth that appeared in their chests at the familial love he so clearly held for her.

Smile fading, he pressed on, "The spring had been a rainy one that year and the Brandywine was fuller and faster than usual. When Poppy and Aunt Belinda were almost halfway across a loose log came down the river at them, carried downstream by the current. The ferry was hit and they went in the water. They were gone before the ferrymen could get to them, swept downstream. We…We found them that night, all the way down by Longbottom in the Southfarthing. Poppy was clinging to a tree branch that hung over the water and…and Aunt Belinda was holding onto her.'

"Uncle Holman was relieved for a few seconds before he realized. Poppy had survived. She was soaked, exhausted, and should have lost unconsciousness hours before, but she was alive. Aunt-Aunt Belinda wasn't. She'd been holding onto Poppy when she drowned, the doctor said, and her body just didn't let go."

A deep sob came from the trembling woman in his lap. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head before continuing. "Poppy didn't talk for weeks and Uncle Holman was…he was never the same. Poppy left for a while and when she came back she lived with me. The last time something like this happened she didn't get out of bed for a week."

Eyes wide with sadness and concern, Kili whispered what they were all wondering, "When is she going to get...better?"

"When she's ready," Thorin answered to the surprise of many, allowing for no further comment. Exchanging a look that held an element of understanding with Bilbo, he continued, "It's late and the road isn't going anywhere. Get some sleep. Dwalin, you're on first watch."

The large dwarf nodded, pushing himself up from the ground and making his way around the fire to the edge of camp. The others all settled themselves into their blankets in various states of reluctance. Gently lifting her head from his lap, Bilbo moved to lie beside the still inert Poppy. Taking her then dry wool cloak when Gandalf held it out to him, he covered her with it before wrapping himself in his own blanket at her back.

Without a word or glance at Bilbo, Bifur appeared next to them. Pressing a kiss to the lass's forehead, he laid out his bedroll at her feet, covering them with his cloak as usual.

* * *

A familiar sound pulled Poppy from her restless non-sleep. She was in a numb limbo between incredible pain and trying to pull herself back to the surface, back toward sanity and some sense of self. At that point, she couldn't even remember most of the day, the water washing away everything in its path.

That aching part of her always struggled the most, knowing that the longer her lethargy and depression remained, the harder it would be to escape it. She had experienced all of this before, though repetition hadn't made it easier in the slightest. Bilbo's presence had lessened some of the weight, but much remained.

Added atop everything, she was scared, scared to death that her new friends would all look at her with the same pitying eyes that the crowd of relatives and neighbors who had invaded her home after her mother's death had. She was scared to death that they would only ever look at her as the girl who'd lost her mother. That fear was almost as debilitating as the cold numbness the river had produced. Her mother's blue eyes still stared at her from the darkness, making Poppy wonder yet again if she wasn't completely insane.

The aching forcing its way through, her attention was pulled back to what had awakened her. Across the fire, Fili was taking his turn at watch, Ori returning to his bedroll. Waiting until her curious friend was snoring again, she pushed herself up with incredible effort against the weight of her depression. The aching argued against the grief, demanding with resounding conviction that she get up that instant.

Bringing her cloak with her, she silently made her way toward him. When she sat down at his side, she left rather more room between them than she usually would, unsure of how this would go. She was in fact literally holding her breath when she looked up at him.

Only pure and sincere relief looked back at her from those hazel eyes. Not hesitating for a second, he reached out and began running his thumb over her cheek. A genuinely happy smile appeared on his face. "Hi."

Quite suddenly a fleeting smile and a wave of tears came over her, both rising up from somewhere deep in her stomach where the immense relief she felt was radiating from. Fili hadn't changed, not in the slightest, and every part of her felt warmer because of it.

Pulling her into his side without another word, Fili pressed a kiss to the top of her head and once again held her as she cried out all her many fears into his chest. He didn't believe that his chest had ever served a nobler purpose.

* * *

A/N: Hello there! So here we are. Poppy is in fact alive, no longer in the river, and some of her issues are now in the open. She's had an incredibly full day and to be honest, I feel tired after just writing it. It was really very emotional to get into words. I hope I did it justice.

On a little side note, I wasn't really sure what hobbits would call their mothers, so I went with the common British. Tolkien was British; hobbits are supposed to be rather English, so I just went with it. To those who are asking, 'what about the orcs?!', we'll get there. She's not quite all back yet. Anyway, thanks so much for reading, review if you could, and I hope you enjoyed. See you Tuesday. :)


	24. Resurface

"What's she doing?"

Dori shrugged at his king's question, honestly unsure. He whispered his reply so as not to wake the others, "She was awake when Nori got up for watch, too. Bofur told him she was up during his, as well."

"What's she do?"

"Nothing," the older dwarf explained with a sigh, looking over his shoulder as the dark figure on the edge of camp. "She just sits. She won't speak, even if you talk to her. She sits and braids her hair. I…I think she just wants the company. I think she's scared."

Thorin had nodded and moved to walk past when Dori whispered, "Did she really try to jump back in? Kili asked Fili earlier when they thought the rest of us were asleep. Fili said he had to stop her from going back."

"Aye, he did."

A heavy breath escaped the white-haired dwarf, the really rather brotherly concern that had been building for the lass since she'd saved Ori coming to a head. Noticing a sliver of pity in his companion's eyes, Thorin added rather darkly, "I do not think it's the water she fears anymore. I think it's us."

"But why would the lass be scared of us?"

"Perhaps what we think of her." Pondering that a tad bit more, he amended with a shrug, "What the rest of you think of her. I doubt she gives a care to what I think anymore."

"Nothing's changed," Dori objected with confusion, choosing to ignore the latter part of his king's statement.

Having felt something along the lines of what he suspected the hobbit felt when his grandfather had died and everyone had subsequently tiptoed about him for years, Thorin shook his head, "She doesn't know that."

The older dwarf chewed upon that for a few moments before nodding. Clapping his companion on the shoulder, the king went to move past him and take what would undoubtedly be an incredibly awkward seat beside the damaged hobbit. Dori grabbed his arm fleetingly, whispering with a hesitant expression, colored heavily with a concern usually reserved for Nori and Ori, "Thorin…don't give her something else to be scared of, please."

With a decided sense of awkwardness, Dori then let go of his king and went about settling himself in his blankets, unsure if he had just taken a large step too far over the line. Letting out a small sigh, Thorin supposed he'd deserved that. The girl was scared to death of him, that he'd known since the very beginning. If her dead mother had truly been as fearless as Bilbo had said, though, he could see from whom Poppy had inherited that stout little willpower of hers. He'd cowed dwarves triple and more her age with persistent hostility like what he'd shown her. She just trembled and managed to sound humble when she simply told him no.

Fully prepared for an uncomfortable hour at her side, he took the axe from across his back and sat beside her. From where she sat wrapped in her cloak, back straight, fingers absently and messily braiding her tangle of curls, her eyes didn't glance down from where they were gazing at the stars. She did not, in fact, acknowledge his presence at all, not then and not when he took out a whetstone and began sharpening the angled blade.

Poppy waited beside him, waiting for the sun and the light and the morning to come, content in the silence but fearful as her mind continued fighting to get itself back to normal. Parts of that morning were beginning to come back, the water in her brain slowly receding. Laying there in Bilbo's lap earlier, she could remember nothing before being taken under. Her brain had shut it out.

Her fear was a strong creature, allowed to grow over the last twenty years without nearly enough fight from her. Its claws were long, its grip strong, and its ability to spread from water to her friends to her insecurities more painful than drowning. The guilt she'd been harboring for those same twenty years was not a light burden either. The two toxic feelings fed off one another and hid together like a disease you could never get rid of.

All she could do was wait…and waiting alone was not an option she cherished at that moment.

When Fili had arisen to return to his blankets, he had gone so far as to offer to let her sleep between he and Kili. She could cry all over him as much as she wished. Every sane bit of her screamed and yearned for her to just say yes. Nothing had sounded as appealing as the idea of allowing the sense of self she felt when around Fili to fight off the fear, likely his arms around her to provide extra strength. That aching place in her chest was still kicking her for saying no. Though it had earned him her second smile of the evening, she had shaken her head. The way he'd glanced back toward his uncle said his offer was not one without consequences and she wasn't going to make him deal with whatever they might be just for her.

Pressing a gentle, lingering kiss to her injured temple, he'd left her where she sat before going to wake Bombur.

While usually being in any kind of proximity to Thorin put her on edge, the sound of him sharpening his blade was oddly comforting. Fili often did the same at night, actually having shown her how at one point. The little bits of known were helpful and even the company of Thorin Oakenshield was better than being awake and alone in the darkness. The minutes of his hour passed slowly and she imagined likely awkwardly for him.

Gandalf had quietly told her of Bilbo's…altercation with the king when her cousin had needed to relieve himself earlier in the evening. Not all of the wizard's words had sunk in, but there were enough to feel warmed by Bilbo's protective nature.

At the growing tension she could sense in the dwarf beside her, a tiny smile began to grow in her mind. Kili hadn't been able to handle her silence, either. While his discomfort wasn't as obvious as Kili's, who would have begun practically bouncing, his legs twitching and his hands unable to stay still, she could recognize it nonetheless. It was hidden in how he couldn't decide which hand to hold the whetstone in, couldn't decide whether to look at her or not. The younger brother and the dwarf king really were cut from the same cloth; Thorin's had just gone through some far rougher and unluckier handling than his nephew's. She wondered suddenly if he had been more like Kili in his youth, before it felt like everything in his life had gone terribly and horribly wrong… a feeling she could sympathize with.

She continued looking up as Thorin became more and more ill at ease, naming the various stars to herself, finding some solace in recalling the stories behind them as she braided her hair. She had never been a good braider, not by any reckoning, but there was something calming about the repeated motion. In an odd sort of way, that Thorin was not as emotionless as he wished to make himself appear was calming, too, even if those emotions, excepting anger, were not turned toward her all the time.

"You should get some sleep, girl. We're leaving in the morning, with or without you." Thorin watched, looking for some reaction on her face, for her to even glance in his direction. He got nothing.

"Nothing is going to have changed. You're still not a part of this company. You're still not one of us."

Letting out a frustrated sigh, for whatever reason her apparent inability to hear anything he was saying coupled with no one else being awake allowing some leftover emotion of the day slip through, he finished, "And you're still going to be following right behind us, aren't you? By Durin's beard, why are women always so stubborn?"

Even at the direct mention of her, she didn't so as much as glance at him. For a long moment, he wondered if she was even still in there, if any of her mind was left or if only the sobbing lump that had huddled in Bilbo's arms remained.

"I'm still going to tell you to go home," he continued, the quiet urging on words that he hadn't intended to let escape, most of them sounding as if he were convincing himself and not her. "I still don't want you with us. At the rate you're going you'll be the first of us to fall should anything happen. We have to cross the mountains where it's cold and wet and goblins love to hide in dark corners. They'll love a little bite like you, believe you me. Then, there's the Anduin to cross. You won't make it off the bank. After that, I don't care what Gandalf says, Mirkwood is no place for _anyone_ let alone a hobbit girl. If-_If_ you can make it through the forest and to Erebor…"

The mere name of his home caused a part of his voice to catch. "Beautiful Erebor, our kingdom, our _home… _It will no longer be what it once was. It will not be the place of wonder and beauty. It won't be the place we remember. It will have to be fixed and repaired and brought back to what it once was…"

In the odd contradiction that the dwarf was, he abruptly changed back to the stony man he usually was. "You won't get past the dragon, girl. Between here and there lie far more dangers than between here and your home. I won't have your life on my conscience when the goblins, elves, miles, orcs, and wargs wear you down. I _can't _have you on my conscience. I can't take another… There are already too many…"

He fell silent after that, having said far too much already. His watch was over soon and he didn't understand why he'd said all that, the darkness releasing a moment of weakness that he didn't like. A small part of him hoped that she hadn't truly understood all of that, that she was still too preoccupied with getting a hold of herself. None of it had been particularly encouraging… Letting out a sound of exhaustion, he pushed himself to his feet with his axe as his hour came to an end.

Looking back after her once, he began to make his way to Bifur to wake him for his watch.

"Good night, Thorin."

Freezing where he stood, he looked back, wondering if she had actually spoken or if he was hearing things in the darkness. She had not moved from where she sat, her eyes still upward and her expression still lost, as if unsure of where to find herself inside that battered head of hers. It was only when he saw her lips moving that he could be sure as she finished, "Sleep well, King Under the Mountain."

Bewildered, he woke Bifur and went back to his blankets, more than ready for the entire day to be at an end, the woman who refused to stop following them not making herself any easier to understand in the dark of night. She certainly had not been kidding when she vowed to wait him out.

* * *

The morning arrived as most mornings did, with a bright sun, a pink sky, and thirteen dwarves, a wizard, and two hobbits not yet ready to welcome the day.

At some time in the night, Poppy had fallen asleep, her head resting heavily on Bifur's shoulder where he still sat on watch. When she blinked awake in the light, he smiled down at her with his usual greeting in Khuzdul. It taking her a minute, she finally smiled back at him.

The rushing had stopped, her ears hearing the birds' songs instead of the water filling up her chest. The fear had been stifled in her sleep and by the way her companions had not changed, even Thorin had been his usual grumpy self which was oddly nice. The guilt and lack of memory were all that were left, clinging as they so often did. Alone Poppy could deal with those. She could walk them off over the course of the day. The solitude and the knowledge that there would be thirteen people there to welcome her when she came back would help her bury the guilt again and regain what she'd lost of the day before.

Squeezing her friend's arm warmly, she smiled once again before going to saddle the ponies, their attitudes not having changed in the slightest.

When the others awoke, Poppy was gone. When Bilbo looked frantically about him, genuinely worried that she had run off in the night to finish what the river had started, Bifur calmed him with a hand on the shoulder. Waiting until the hobbit began to breathe normally again, he merely pointed ahead of them. Bilbo seemed to have understood that, a look of relief coming over him.

Their hobbit did not reappear until that night, walking into camp with herbs and onions in her pack. A hush descended upon her arrival, the others unsure what she needed, how she was. Only from Gandalf and Fili did she receive encouraging grins, the latter's far more on the cheeky side. A smile upon her face as she dropped her things beside her cousin and Bifur's, she took up her staff.

Face still bright, she planted herself in front of Oin. Grabbing his staff from the ground, she handed it to him expectantly. A grin came over the older dwarf's face as he brought her into a one-armed hug, "Welcome back, lass. We missed you for a while there."

* * *

A/N: I made it! I made it by 2 minutes. It's still technically Tuesday in my timezone. :) So, along with college decided just to completely crap on my day, I struggled with this chapter some. Maneuvering Poppy's recovering was tricky. So, thank you for reading, review if the desire takes you, and I hope you enjoyed. Come Thursday...the long awaited trolls! :)


	25. What to Do

"Gandalf, I need to talk to you for a moment."

The wizard had to pull himself from the lovely haze of Old Toby he was surrounded with when the hobbit appeared before him. She had just finished with her 'lesson' of the day with Oin. The older warrior had attempted to take it easy on her and received a smack upside the head for his trouble. Bifur was still chuckling from beside the ponies, the blade in his forehead wobbling along with his mirth. A smile had grown upon her face as Oin gave her a grave nod, a smile upon his own face. The exertion seemed to have pleased her, having her grinning with every blow she dodged and person she leapt over by the end.

With one of their own no longer in what appeared to be grave psychological danger, their companions had settled back into the comfort of their routine with ease. The others' pipes were all out and being heartily puffed upon, smoke rings rising up to the heavens with Bofur's witty tale.

Even Bilbo appeared better, his gaze only dipping into a worried one every so often instead of every time his cousin made a move. Whenever he saw her a look of astonishment was soon to appear. Perhaps it was because she had little choice out there in the wild, but the speed with which she had again found herself shocked him. The last time she had literally not spoken in a month, apparently not even knowing her name when he said it. She still could not recall the events leading up to Gemma Bracegirdle pushing her into Farmer Cotton's fishing pond. Poppy couldn't even remember Gemma Bracegirdle. It was all just very surprising to Bilbo, though he supposed necessity bred adaptation. His little cousin was nothing if not adaptable.

"All right, my dear Anna. What can this old man help you with?" Gandalf's smile was warm when he looked up at her, although the look on her face was not nearly as happy as it had just been. There was both determination and a bit of fear in the rounded lines of her face, an apprehension in her eyes.

"In private, Gandalf," she whispered, holding her hand out to aid him in standing.

Bofur's story had just reached a climactic moment, a loud round of laughter resulting, that fortuitously covered their retreat a few meters into the trees, a frown growing upon the wizard's face. However, he waited as the hobbit he'd known for so long shifted her weight from foot to foot, glancing about the darkness with an experienced eye. Kneeling down to her level and placing a hand upon her shoulder, he softly queried, "Anna…what is wrong?"

Her soft voice was colored darkly with worry when she replied, finding her old friend's grey eyes. The change took him by surprise, wondering how she had hid it so very well before. "I remembered today why I tried to cross the river. I remembered what I was doing. There are orcs, Gandalf. I found their trail and followed it to their camp. They were within miles of us."

Her revelation made him pause, his breath catching for a moment. While he had expected trouble, prepared for it to the best of his ability, he had not quite expected it to come quite that early or in the form of an orc pack… "Forgive me, Anna, but are you sure?"

"Yes."

Poppy's answer was filled with certainty. It had taken her far too long to remember it, but she could recall the sight of the camp clearly to her mind. The feeling that she'd been missing something had been niggling at her mind ever since Thorin had let his words go, likely believing she couldn't hear him anyway. The itch had been in her brain and it had been driving her madder and madder as she walked that afternoon, fighting to get back what she'd lost. Finally it had come, all rushing back with dazzling clarity, the terror she'd felt at the idea of her friends being hurt exploding to the forefront with more power than Gandalf's fireworks. Just as with fighting, everything was easier to sort out when she had someone else to think of, to protect. Everything was simpler when she thought of others' worth, how precious they were to her, instead of her own.

She continued as she saw his mind begin to take in the information, deciding what to do with it, "They headed north, though. I don't know if they were following us or looking for us, but the trail I found was a day old and their camp had been left. Maybe they were just heading toward the mountains…? Also, I have no idea how many there were. I've never seen warg tracks like that before, so I couldn't tell. There might have only been two."

"Perhaps, though the wise never trust in luck to carry them through to safety." Smiling a bit, he added, "They just count on a little bit of it for good measure. Anna, why did you not tell Thorin this?"

Blue eyes flitting back toward the fire, she answered while gazing at the dwarf king, "Why would he believe me? I tried to drown myself in front of him yesterday and didn't have the presence of mind to walk on my own feet…"

The ease with which she spoke of her actions surprised Gandalf a bit, though he chose not to comment on them. She had said she'd been through far too much to shatter. He supposed that after living with her guilt for twenty years, she was better aware of it than anyone else could be. While she was no longer the same, she was still strong and she appeared to have dealt with what she needed to. A certain blonde-haired dwarf would likely be of far more help to her anyway. The wizard turned his attention to the other matter at hand: possible impending attack from an orc pack that may or may not be following the Company of Thorin Oakenshield.

"You likely have a point there, my dear, though I daresay his disbelief would be from his stubbornness and not your actions. Now what to do about this…"

Poppy waited patiently as Gandalf pondered her information, the whirring of his brain all but audible. Glancing back to the fire again, she watched as her companions all laughed at Bofur's tale, even her cousin chuckling, too. As her gaze lingered, she found a set of hazel eyes looking in her direction, accompanied with a grin. Smiling as her stomach warmed up as if she'd just crawled into an incredibly warm and comfortable bed, she trusted the darkness to hide the blush on her cheeks. Gandalf's words pulled her from her pleasant occupation.

"Before we _do_ more, little Anna, we need to _know_ more. If we do have a bit of luck, they will merely be passing through. The edges of the mountains are still a haven for their kind, especially Moria to the south. It would not be a stretch for a few to be going to a more northern location. Though, a lone pair of riders and an entire pack mean two different things entirely. I hope it is the former, because I would not know of why an orc pack would know enough of us to follow…or who could be leading them…" His voice trailed off into a dark, heavy pause that made her stomach begin to turn. As if sensing her discomfort, he continued more brightly, "Tomorrow I will go off to try and find some further sign of these orcs. While I look ahead, you, my dear, will stay on the north, watching for any signs of the beasts coming back so that we will have warning. Between the two of us, we will learn what we can. Dwarves are not the kind to be caught unprepared, especially our leader, so I feel we need not fear too much too soon. However, I will tell him to be on his guard. If you like, I can tell him I found some signs…"

Reluctant to have the dwarf king have anything extra to be angry at her for—she doubted he would understand a twenty-four hour delay in telling him, whether she had honestly not remembered or not—she nodded, "That would be nice…You're sure we need not worry yet?"

"I'm sure," he nodded, smiling to convince them both. "Very well. I'll speak with Thorin tonight. He can do with the knowledge what he wishes. Let us return to our friends now, Anna." With that he stood, leaning against her as they went. "How is your hip doing, my dear?"

"It's much better. I just have the scar now, nothing more."

"Excellent," he added with a smile as he retook his place on the ground, grabbing up his pipe and beginning to puff once again. Noting how Fili's eyes were again upon her, the wizard couldn't help himself from teasing, "Also, how are you sleeping? I do hope nothing here in the wilds is keeping you awake at night."

Freezing beside him, she turned with narrowed eyes to see the bright grin that had appeared on his face. Feeling the flush that rose in her cheeks, she swatted his arm and chided, "You hush, Gandalf the Grey. I'll have none of that out of you."

All conversation halted as every pair of eyes turned to look at the pair, the picture of Poppy standing with her hands on her hips and a dangerous look on her face not one to miss. Laughing heartily, Gandalf smiled and winked, "There is the light I know and love, my Anna. I knew it wasn't gone, just hidden in there somewhere."

* * *

"So, what was all that with Gandalf earlier?"

Rolling her eyes, Poppy laughed, "Oh, just him being ornery. One wouldn't think it of him, but he can be really quite infuriating at times."

From where he sat beside her that night, Fili grinned. After she and Gandalf had returned to the group, she'd begun talking once again. She'd appeared completely back to normal when she'd crawled out from beneath her cloak beside Bilbo when he took watch that night. At least, she'd sat beside him like she always did, with her arm brushing up against his, her knee pressing against his leg. She hadn't left that odd space like before, for which Fili was grateful.

It had just felt wrong the night before, having her next to him but with so much space… Somewhere along the line, a foot had become too much space. Who was he kidding? An _inch_ was too much space and Fili knew it. The warmth of her presence beside him had become oddly necessary. He didn't even want to start to delve into why that might be. The cavern that held the answer at its bottom was just far too deep to jump into.

As she pulled out the hat she was working on for Bilbo, her curls falling in a wave over her shoulder, he asked, "Why _does_ he call you Anna? Back in the Shire Bilbo got angry at him for it."

Shrugging as she pulled her hair back and began fighting her curls to create a braid, she answered, "Everyone used to call me Anna. It wasn't until I moved back in with Bilbo that I began answering to Poppy again."

Smiling slightly, he gently swatted her fingers away and gathered up her hair, "But why Anna? It doesn't make sense?"

Poppy was delayed in answering as she felt his fingers comb through her hair, brushing curls off of her neck. Quite without her permission, a chill ran straight up her spine, making the comfortable warmth in her stomach churn into a more intense heat. He had finished the simple but sturdy braid that fell to the center of her back, tying it off with a bit of the linen rag he kept his whetstone in, before she could make words come out of her mouth. Her smile in his direction was so quick given the bright red condition of her face that she didn't get a good look of how the color of his mirrored hers.

Her eyes were back down on Bilbo's hat when she replied without quite complete honesty, "It was a pet name at the time really. It didn't have much meaning. I still answer to it quicker than Poppy, though."

With that, Fili let it be, too preoccupied with the tingling of his hands. His fingers felt as though they'd been stuck in the snow for hours and had just begun the harsh warming process, just without all the pain. This tingling was far more pleasant.

He couldn't believe he'd just braided her hair. While he knew without a doubt that Poppy had no idea of the weight of what he'd just done. She had said hobbits and their emphasis on dancing was rather silly. Well, dwarves and their love of braids was his race's equivalent. One did not just go around braiding someone else's hair unless they were family…or they were the girl you didn't want anyone else looking at because she was yours and you were courting her.

Of course, there was a ceremony involved that made it public. Shaking the odd feeling from his fingers, Fili took one of his throwing axes into his hands, calming himself before he let his thoughts run away with him. They were not in the Blue Mountains, they hadn't had a ceremony, and Poppy wasn't…his…not really. _No_, not at all.

Her soft question of why he and Kili were named what they were, if there was some meaning behind their rhyming names, distracted him from his treacherous and just plain odd thoughts. He had helped out a dear friend, nothing more, therefore there was no point in agonizing over it.

Shrugging as her blue eyes turned back up to find his, he grinned, "I think our mother just liked how they sounded."

Smiling back, Poppy giggled and fought not to let her blush get the better of her, "Your mother has a very good ear."

"Why yes she does. She recognized Kili's singing as terrible the first time she heard it." As she dissolved into giggles beside him, Fili wrapped a lazy arm about her shoulders, subconsciously searching for those tingles again.

* * *

A/N: So...there were supposed to have been trolls. I was all ready for them and everything, those silly Tom Bert, and Bill! However, I'm running on really quite little sleep and my speling has been getting progressively worse over the last two hours... To spare you and myself during class tomorrow, I decided to quit while I'm ahead. I really am sorry, but I decided that I'd rather put up something good than something completely on time. Please bare with me! I promise, promise, promise on Saturday there will be trolls and a lot of them!

Also, just a quick note that will likely be spelled quite badly, about not immediately getting to the orcs. While not Tolkien-world, I've always imagined Poppy's issues being a bit of a product of PTSD. Something terrible hapened and through a number of circumstances, she never properly dealt with it and her loss, so it springs up when confrontd with that experience. Along with other things, people with PTSD can experience short-term memory loss concerning their horrible event. (I promise I did my homework before just deciding for her not to remember her reason for trying to cross the river. :D) Anyway, thanks for reading, reviw if you could, and I hope you enjoyed. :)


	26. Watching the Ponies

"Decided to sport a new hairstyle, lass?"

From where she was enthusiastically rubbing Bella's forelock and weathering Minty and Myrtle's snubbed nudges, absently munching on her biscuit, Poppy frowned as she took in the mischievous grin on Bofur's face, the odd shape of his hat adding to his orneriness. As soon as he mentioned her thick braid and how it swung about behind her as she moved, every single dwarf turned his eyes to her, a variety of expressions on their faces.

Bifur was grinning as well. Dwalin looked as though he'd just swallowed a lemon. Oin was indifferent. Thorin was grumpy, though it was slightly sharper than usual for that early in the morning. Ori was smiling on with his usual friendly air, giving her an approving nod at the change. Kili looked as though he'd just had an epiphany and his gaze quickly shot over to his brother, his grin dangerous. On that note, Fili looked rather like a scared rabbit. He was hiding the expression, but she could see it there in the little line that had appeared between his eyes.

Wondering why on earth a simple braid had produced so many reactions, she merely nodded and allowed her voice to take on a teasing air, "Well, yes, yes I did. As much as I enjoy the natural, wild look, I decided that accessorizing with twigs and leaves I pick up as I run about was ill-advised."

As a few of them laughed, she chose to make her exit before the conversation could go further. Shouldering her pack and ensuring her staff was tied tightly in place, she quickly pressed kisses to Bifur and Bilbo's cheeks before jogging off to the north, calling back happily, "I shall see you later, my lovelies!"

For a few miles as she made her way through the trees, she pondered what had just happened. To be perfectly honest, she hadn't the faintest idea. So what if she had a braid? What difference did it make? As she had mentioned in her own teasing way that would undoubtedly distract them from the matter at hand, it was more practical. From the way Kili's face had positively lit up with mischief, she took it that Fili doing it for her meant more than she realized… He certainly hadn't wanted them to know she hadn't done it herself. There was stark worry in his eye when he'd glanced at Thorin.

Forcing the occurrence to drop to the back of her mind, she shook her head. She'd worry about it later. If Fili wanted to tell her, he would. If not, then she would just enjoy the braid for as long as it lasted. At the skill and strength of the weave, she had no doubt that would be a long while.

Instead, she turned her attention to more pressing matters. Doing as Gandalf had said and keeping watch for their resident orcs, for example. As the day went on and the sun moved its way through the sky, she tried to keep herself from becoming too tense, but she just couldn't make it work. She was worried, hundreds of horrible possibilities running through her mind. On more than one occasion, she wished she could share her worry with one of the others instead of burying it beneath her smile when around them. She wanted Fili to smile at her and tell her it'd all be fine.

Then, of course, she'd start thinking about him and those horrible things would be replaced with lots of wonderful things and she'd find herself grinning stupidly into nothing. It was a confusing little cycle that she tried and failed to get under some semblance of control all day. Then again…when was letting her mind wander about the blonde-haired, hazel-eyed dwarf ever a bad thing. That aching place certainly didn't think so, shooting little tingles down to her stomach whenever she tried to divert her attention.

It was all really quite tiring.

When the sun was beginning to set and she knew they would be making camp for the night, she made the choice to stay out longer, searching for signs that she prayed to all the Valar she wouldn't find. She could go back when it was too dark to see any signs of something that could harm them. Then she'd go back. While she couldn't do much, she would do what she could to protect them.

Her mind and heart made that decision with equal haste for once.

Night had fallen and the slight chill of the summer evening was upon her when she heard it, saw the light before her in the trees. Frowning, knowing that it wasn't their camp, she proceeded with caution, noticing with growing alarm that trees had been completely uprooted from the ground.

She silently crept forward and crouched in one of the bushes as she came upon the fire. Eyes widening as she saw three monstrous figures before her about a cauldron and then her cousin creeping around behind them, a deep breath escaped through her lips.

This would go just swimmingly.

"Well, shite…"

* * *

"Well, we're certainly getting toward the mountains, aren't we?" Bilbo commented as Myrtle puffed her way up the steep hill they were on.

Beside him Balin smiled, "We are indeed, laddie. It's wonderful, isn't it."

The excitement on the older dwarf's face at reaching the terrain he liked best made the hobbit smile. After so many days on a pony, he couldn't say he wasn't looking forward to a good couple days of walking himself. Not that he didn't enjoy Myrtle's company, of course. Leaning forward, he patted his steed's neck encouragingly.

Speaking of ponies, he began to look about, wondering where Poppy was. They had reached the top of the hill, trees all about a small farmstead. The family that lived there had apparently moved on some time ago, however, because the roof had fallen in and the walls could no longer keep large animals out, let alone a chill. It saddened him some to realized that this was the first sign of civilization that he'd seen since Bree. For all his looking, there was no sign of Poppy. While it was still plenty bright outside, the sun was beginning to dip down. They hadn't seen her all day and he was becoming slightly worried.

"I wonder where Poppy is."

Before Balin could make an answer of some kind, Thorin's voice rang back, "We'll stop here for the night!" Glancing about and realizing that their usual pony-handler had yet to arrive, he added quickly, "Fili, Kili, look after the ponies. Make sure you stay with them."

While it had not been his intention, the leader's look about for their hobbit drew the attention of all the others. "Where's the lass disappeared to?" Dori queried, a worry similar to that upon Bilbo's face appearing in his voice.

"I'm sure she's fine, brother," Nori soothed as he climbed down. "It was probably a rough walk over all these hills today."

Nodding with a smile, Ori agreed, "She's probably finding something for supper. What are we having, Bombur?"

Letting out a laugh, the rotund dwarf replied, "The usual, lad."

Chatter beginning once again, the dwarves all dismounted, handing their reins to the two brothers after gathering their things. Frowning out into the lush woods where he knew she was running about somewhere, Fili absently patted the creatures. Despite Nori's explanation, he was still a bit worried. He was being ridiculous and he knew it—she'd been getting later and later as the days went on—but he was loath to let not know where she was after the incident with the river.

Beside him, Kili watched with a growing grin on his face. Though babysitting the ponies was not his favorite activity—he much preferred conceding the pleasure to Poppy—it would provide the perfect chance to corner his beloved big brother concerning their little hobbit. He'd sat with her through the night she wasn't herself. He'd seen the quality of her braids and they were _not_ like the one in her hair currently. His brother's skill, however, was weaved right into those dark chocolate curls of hers…

Smacking his brother gently on the shoulder, he brought his attention back to the present as Dwalin handed his reins to them and their uncle called out, "Oin, Gloin, get a fire going."

Looking about the small farmhouse with growing apprehension, Gandalf muttered to the air, "A farmer and his family used to live here…"

The longer he remained in the small house, the heavier the shadow in his mind weighed down his thoughts. Something was not right. He had veered off the path multiple times that day, in search of Anna's orcs, and had found nothing to cause him alarm. However, in that little cabin he could feel the danger deep in his heart. "I think it would be wiser to move on. We could make for the hidden valley"

His ever-present frown upon his face, Thorin glared at the words even as they came out of the wizard's mouth, "I've told you already. I will _not_ go near that place."

His worry adding to his frustration, Gandalf declared, "Why not?! The elves could help us." He turned and followed as Thorin purposely turned his back and walked away from him. "We could get food, rest, advice."

"I don't need their advice."

"We have a map we cannot read," the wizard fired back. "Lord Elrond could help us."

"Help?" The bitterness in the dwarf's voice was almost visible, his lingering pain a thing that pounded against one's ears as he spoke. "A dragon attacks Erebor. What help comes from the elves? Orcs plunder Moria, desecrate our sacred halls. The elves looked on and did _nothing_. You ask me to seek help from the very people who betrayed my grandfather, betrayed my father."

Letting out a sigh, his friend's stubbornness starting to wear on his already strained nerves, Gandalf said with rising ire, "You are neither of them. I did not give you that key so you could hold onto the past!"

"I did not realize it was yours to keep!"

With a shake of his head, the wizard sidled from foot to foot for a moment before turning about. Staff in hand and his sleeves billowing about him, he stormed back toward his horse.

"Is everything all right?" Bilbo asked cautiously as he patted Myrtle's face, the worry he'd just buried moments before beginning to return. "Gandalf, where are you going?"

"To seek the company of the only one around here who's got any sense!"

"And who's that?"

"MYSELF, Mr. Baggins!" Voice dropping, he added as he passed beyond their earshot and set out to find Anna, "I've had enough of dwarves for one day."

The company watched as he disappeared into the trees. Thorin's deceptively level voice cut their observing short when he demanded, "Come on, Bombur. We're hungry."

"Is he coming back?" From beside the hobbit, Balin could only shrug. Though he would follow him wherever he led them, the old warrior knew that Thorin had the ability to infuriate a person to the point of utter wrath. Hopefully, the wizard would just need a little while to calm his own fire.

Though, with how the sun was getting dangerously close to disappearing, he would feel much better if the wizard returned sooner rather than later…

* * *

"Come on, Bella, no need to get feisty with me." As the black pony swung her head at him with what he could only call annoyance, Kili continued hotly while taking her saddle, "Well I know I'm no Poppy, but you just calm yourself, cranky hoofs!"

Seeming to take the hint, she lowered her head to the ground and began grazing from the clearing he and Fili had settled the small herd in. Speaking of his brother, the blonde dwarf was carting two saddles over to the pile they had made as the darkness continued to deepen. His gaze was distinctly not on his work. He appeared far more preoccupied with straining his ears to hear some kind of welcoming of Poppy back in camp.

"So," the darker brother began nonchalantly, immediately putting the other on guard, "when did we adopt Poppy? Did I miss out on that particular festivity? Also, when did Uncle Thorin stop being annoyed by her very existence? How did I not notice _that_?"

Taking their uncle's saddle off of his pony and patting the male steed's neck, Fili pretended not to understand, "What are you going on about? Poppy has a point. You really need to start making sense, baby brother."

"Oh, don't even try that with me, Fili-Wili," Kili shot back, taking out the terrible pet name he only used on very special occasions, such as when Fili referred to him as a baby. "I'm not stupid. You can't sew and she couldn't make a braid that good if it was going to save her life. The only way she could've gotten that was from you. Now fess up."

Shouldering harshly past his brother who'd smugly crossed his arms over his chest, an infuriatingly knowing look on his face, Fili snapped, "There's nothing to fess up to. I think you're imagining things."

Kili let him get a little farther past him before calling, "And I think we promised never to start lying to one another because of a girl."

He saw Fili freeze in the growing darkness, the way his shoulders tensed clearly saying those words had done their job. Dropping Thorin's saddle unceremoniously to the grass, Fili flopped down on his back beside it, ignoring how his scabbard dug into his back. Groaning, he looked up to the stars shining down through the summer leaves. "I didn't mean to."

Pushing Minty off in the direction of her friends who had ventured further into the trees, Kili sat beside him, "How do you manage to braid her hair without meaning to?"

"I'm incredibly talented?"

Snorting, Kili nudged his brother with his foot, "Indeed you are… She has no idea what it means, does she."

Rubbing his face with his hands, the blonde shook his head, "No. I don't want her to. It wasn't my intention to show _that_. Just…she…she was struggling with it and I just did it. I didn't really think about it that much."

"You like her, don't you." The way he said it clearly showed he already knew the answer.

"Who doesn't like Poppy? …well, besides uncle." Within the space of a breath he felt the sharp pain of a punch to his shoulder. Had anyone else suggested it, Fili knew his face would have gone as red as Poppy's usually did. With Kili, however, it was just like he was having a conversation with a part of himself. There was no reason to be embarrassed. Letting out a sigh, he nodded, "Aye."

Grinning triumphantly though fighting not to let it show up in his voice, Kili asked, "So how long has she been sitting through watch with you?" At the shocked expression that whirled about to meet his, the younger laughed, "Yes, I know all about that. I was still awake that night in the cave. I saw the two of you holding hands."

It was then Kili's turn to feel the sharp pain of brotherly irritation as Fili reached out and socked him in the arm. "Since the first night in the forest. She wakes up whenever it's my turn."

Kili's jaw dropped. "The _first_ night?!"

"The first in the _forest_," Fili corrected. Glancing up and seeing his brother's expression, he shot back, "Don't look at me like that! Don't look at me like mother did after she found you snogging the smith's daughter."

Grinning at the memory, Kili had to laugh, "This is nothing compared to how uncle would look at you."

"That would require me to snog her, you idiot," he laughed, also beginning to smile. Pausing, he added pensively after a moment, "I think Bifur knows. He just hasn't said anything."

"Knows what exactly? That she wakes up or that you fancy her and her little hobbity curls?"

"Will you keep your voice down?!"

Rolling his eyes, Kili shrugged his brother's worry off, "Oh calm down. The others can't hear a thing over all the noise the ponies are making." Realizing what he'd just said, he continued, "Why _are_ they making all that noise?" Urgent neighing filled the air, though it was coming from farther away than the brothers would have liked.

Both their eyes widening, they bolted up and toward their charges. Upon arriving they found a number of trees uprooted, two ponies gone, and some large though hard to discern tracks in the darkness. They groaned at the same time, cursing in unison, "_Mahalu-me turg_!"

They were still gazing off in the direction of the trail when Bilbo appeared behind them, a bowl of dinner for each of them in hand. When they made no move to take their food, he queried, "What's the matter?"

"We're supposed to be looking after the ponies," Kili explained.

Fili continued where he left off, "Only we've encountered a…slight problem."

"We had sixteen."

"Now there's fourteen."

Taking a quick inventory of the mounts, Kili noted, "Daisy and Bungo are missing."

Following them, the bowls of stew still in hand, Bilbo let out a nervous laugh, "Well, that's not good." Seeing a giant tree that had been pulled straight out of the ground, he added, "That's not good at all! Shouldn't we tell Thorin?"

Partly worried about his uncle's reaction, but mostly disinclined to needlessly bother him, Fili shook his head, "Uh, no. Let's not worry him." Taking the idea off the top of his head, he added, "As our official burglar, we thought you might like to look into it."

Bilbo stuttered for a few moments before stating the obvious, "Well, uh, it-it looks like something big uprooted these trees."

Playing along in an attempt to get the hobbit's confidence up high enough to get him to follow whatever it was, Kili nodded, "That was our thinking."

"Something very big...and possibly quite dangerous." Bilbo looked down at the tree in slight shock. How could something big enough to just pick up _that_ exist?

He was still looking at the destruction when Fili crouched beside him, whispering, "Hey, there's a light."

The next thing Bilbo knew, he'd been relieved of the two bowls, he was crouching in the underbrush, and the two brothers were no longer behind him, and there were _trolls_ ahead of him. His question of "Are you sure this is a good idea?" was lost upon the trees. Rolling his eyes, wondering how it was he _always_ seemed to get into these situations when dwarves were involved, he crept his way forward.

This was so very much _not_ a good idea.

Staying to the edge of the darkness and hiding behind every tree he could find, Bilbo made his way around the little clearing the trolls had taken up residence in, their cooking pot sitting over a roaring fire. In their slow, bumbling way they were arguing about food and how the farmer had tasted as he tried to get back to the ponies.

None of the three noticed a thing as he came upon the four scared mounts, each of them nickering in excitement upon seeing him. Shushing them, he began fumbling with the knots holding them to the makeshift pen. Finding the ropes too big to maneuver with his small hands, Bilbo looked about in search of something to cut them with.

Of course, the only knife would be attached to one of the disgusting-smelling monster's belts. Trying not to breathe through his nose as much as possible, he snuck forward, hunched down as much as possible. He took two steps forward before abruptly turning back. Thinking about poor Myrtle being killed and then made into these buffoons dinner, he squared his shoulders and turned once more. He could do this.

Dropping down on all fours, he crawled along, shivering with disgust when he found a bone in his grip. Dropping it hurriedly to the ground, he froze when the cook shouted, "Oi, that's my grog!"

The troll with the high-pitched voice fell feet from the hobbit, his giant legs kicking in empty air before he pushed himself up again. Once he was up and sitting again, Bilbo got up and scurried after him, awaiting the perfect moment to get the knife from its belt, even as it stood and scratched itself. Well, wasn't that just lovely.

Quite suddenly and with no warning, Bilbo was grabbed around the middle and then abruptly covered in a terrible smelling substance that immediately made his stomach turn. He tried with all his might not to think about how he, Bilbo Baggins, was covered in…troll boogers.

"Blimey! Bert! Bert, look what's come out of me hooter! It's got arms and legs and everything!"

"What is it?" one of them asked as the three of them peered down at him.

"I don't know. But I don't like how it wiggles around!" The younger troll tossed him to the ground.

Just as Bilbo was finding his feet, he was confronted with a menacing cleaver and the question, "What are you?"

His thoughts and head positively whirling, he answered without thinking, "I'm a burglar—a hobbit!"

"A burglar-hobbit? Can we eat him?"

The troll whose mucus was currently covering Bilbo from head to foot grinned dangerously, "We can try!"

He tried to run but he found his way blocked by the third troll who had named himself the cook. "He wouldn't make more than a mouthful once he's skinned and boned."

"Are there more burglar-hobbits around these parts? Maybe enough for a pie?"

Eyes darting about and finding a familiar pair of blue ones staring back at him from beside the ponies, Bilbo froze. Sending him an imploring look that clearly said to get back to her, Poppy had two of the ponies already untied, her staff out and in hand, though neither cousin knew what good it would do against the giant trolls. He quickly raced back towards her. He jumped about between their feet.

"It's too quick!" the young one moaned.

"Got'cha!" The cleaver-wielding one caught him by the leg and held him up in the air, threatening look upon his face when he asked, "Are there any more of you little fellas hiding where you shouldn't?"

Wondering how he got into this mess in the first place, Bilbo replied, "No."

"He's lying. Put his toes over the fire. Make him squeal."

No, no, Bilbo did not like the sound of that at all. He glanced back and saw Poppy crouched down, her eyes searching for some way to help him. She looked ready to just get up and launch towards them when the small troll squealed in pain. Bilbo's eyes shot over to see Kili there, sword in hand.

"Drop him!"

"You what?" the stupidest of the three who was holding Bilbo demanded.

A grin upon his face, Kili repeated, "I said drop him!"

Roaring, the troll threw the hobbit in his direction. Shouting as he flew through the air, all twelve other dwarves appeared from the underbrush as Bilbo made contact with Kili, both of them winding up on the ground. Thorin leading the charge, the clearing was soon in violent, organized chaos as the dwarves wound about the trolls legs, swinging, shouting, and fighting as one being. Their blades and axes sailed through the air with experienced whistles and their mattocks and maces resulted in the cracking of bones. Whenever a blow came from the left and a troll turned to deflect it, another immediately landed on their right.

Absolutely unsure of what to do, Bilbo stumbled about for a few seconds before hearing Myrtle neigh shrilly in fear. Finally having a purpose, he ducked his way through the fight toward the ponies. Poppy was still there, his hands fighting with a particularly tight knot at the world exploded into chaos about them.

Sliding to a stop beside her, Bilbo demanded breathlessly, "Where have you been?"

"About," she replied with preoccupation, the rope burning her fingers as she tried to free Minty. "Are you all right?"

"Well, I've certainly smelled better…" Despite the violence about them, the two cousins exchanged a smile. Turning to Myrtle, Bilbo grabbed the troll blade that had fallen to the ground and began sawing at the remaining ropes. Once free, the ponies raced off toward camp with a slap on the rumps from Poppy.

The sound of the animals fleeing catching its attention, the cleaver troll looked back. Noticing the beast's gaze, Bilbo shoved Poppy to the ground behind a barrel, hiding her from further sight. She let out a squeak of shock but her cousin had been plucked up from the ground before he properly escaped her throat.

That place in her chest had made her decision before her head even knew exactly what was going on when her eyes saw Bilbo being held out by all four limbs between two trolls. Voicing her screaming thoughts, Kili shouted, "BILBO!" Thorin held him back when the younger dwarf tried to rush forward to help.

The deep rumble of the troll's voice was about to say more when a loud crack and his own yell brought it to a quick death.

From where she had been pushed unceremoniously to the ground, Poppy had risen. In a matter of seconds, she'd decided upon what to do. Staff in hand, she'd hauled the barrel to the makeshift fence. Not taking the time to realize how incredibly stupid her plan was and how she'd likely be jumping straight into the fire, she just went. Giving herself a running start, she sprinting up to jump first onto the barrel, and then pushed off of the pole of the fence, propelling herself through the air to land on the troll's arm.

Before he had a chance to comprehend that something had happened, she brought her staff down harshly on his wrist before swinging it back to crash into his nose with a scream. Completely letting go of Bilbo, he grabbed for her, catching her about the waist and hurling her toward the group of wide-eyed dwarves.

Sailing straight above them, she came back to the ground with a hard thunk. Despite how her shoulder burned, she was up on her feet again and attempting to run back to save Bilbo when two strong arms grabbed her around the waist, holding her back when the troll shouted, "Put down your arms! Put down your arms or we'll rip his off!"

As she struggled like a wildcat against Bofur's grip, all but snarling into the night as her cousin was about to ripped apart, Thorin slowly but deliberately sank his sword into the dirt. The others all followed suit in various states of defiance.

* * *

A/N: Well hello there! So...yay, we finally have trolls! And, come Monday, there are going to be even more trolls! When I finished writing the entire part with our three bumbling friends, this numbered in the 7300 word range. That's a lot, so I decided it would be wiser to split it up.

I also wanted to thanks for all your lovely reviews. They do so make my day. :) And now, as always, I say thanks for reading, review if the desire takes you, and I hope you enjoyed! Our troll conclusion to come Monday.


	27. Cooking Dwarf

Within an hour, all fifteen dwarves and hobbits had been shoved into bags and thrown brusquely into a large pile at the edge of the clearing as the trolls searched the surrounding woods for more firewood. All but one watched as their captors made the fire grow to aid in cooking them.

In an unlucky turn of fate, or troll malevolence, Poppy had been the first to be put into her bag, kicking Bill in his already sore nose on the way. Growling at her, threatening to eat her on the spot, he'd shoved her into the bag and hurled her to the ground with a scream and a dull thud. The others had quickly and efficiently been piled about and on top of her.

Out of all the worrying she'd done in the last twenty-four hours, death by troll had not been one of the terrible possibilities Poppy had come up with. This she realized with a final blink of her eyes before the world went black upon impact with the ground, her tired body deciding it had had quite enough of gigantic monsters, fighting, and being thrown about for that moment.

She wasn't awake to hear Bofur ask in a worried whisper, "Poppy! Poppy are you still alive down there, sweetheart?" At her silence, they all did their best to nudge, push, and shove her to the edge where at least she wouldn't suffocate beneath them.

When Poppy awoke, it was still night. Blinking in an attempt to get her bearings, she realized that she was at the edge of the pile. From somewhere behind and above her, Fili whispered worriedly, "She's awake. Poppy, are you all right?"

Groaning, she nodded, "Yes."

With a surprised shout that made her tremble inside her smelly, coarse prison, Dori was picked up and taken toward the fire. He was to fill the last place on the spit. At the change, Fili found himself rolling down the pile, bouncing and smashing those in his way quite without any control. He came to an abrupt stop on Poppy, his head lying rather awkwardly on her, at that moment, _very_ feminine chest.

Blue eyes widening, she concluded in a strangled whisper, "I'm fine."

His face going as red as hers despite the mortal peril about them, Fili managed to roll off until he was lying on his side, his head on what felt like her arm instead of her...

By Durin's beard, this had _really_ turned into a terrible night!

As she blushed and looked up toward the sky and really anything that wasn't her friend, Poppy realized she'd been out far longer than she thought. By the shade of purple stretched above them, dawn was approaching and quickly. Taking in more of her surroundings, she looked over to see half of her friends stripped down to their underclothes and tied to a gigantic spit above the fire. A few sported scorch marks.

When she looked back to Fili, her face was pale with fear instead of flushed red at his position. The half-smile he gave her said he was just as worried. Letting out a breath, wondering how on earth they were going to get out of this, she returned the weak smile.

Well, if they died at least they'd all be together and whatnot.

The three arguing trolls brought her attention back to the problem at hand. "_I don't fancy being turned to stone._"

"WAIT!"

As much as was possible, Poppy and Fili both turned their heads to look at Bilbo. Struggling to sit up and then get to his feet, Bilbo continued, his voice strong, "You are making a terrible mistake."

From his new place on the spit, Dori called, "Don't try to reason with them. They're halfwits."

Even in danger having a witty comment, Bofur fired back, "Halfwits? What does that make us?!"

Hopping awkwardly along in his burlap bag, the hobbit explained earnestly, "I-I meant with the seasoning." The cook troll, Bert, had been making such a fuss about sautéing and seasoning with sage that a crazy plan had sprung into his head. If there was one thing that Bilbo Baggins knew, it was good food. Something in him told him he'd be able to transfer an air of that knowledge to…dwarf kabob.

Proving his suspicion right, Bert leaned down, his curiosity clearly piqued, "What about the seasoning?"

"Well, have you smelt them?" Bilbo demanded. "You're going to need something stronger than sage before you plate this lot up." For a moment as the others all shouted angrily, Fili felt offended before he saw the growing smile on Poppy's face. It appeared their formerly useless burglar had a plan.

"What do you know about cooking dwarf?" Bill asked harshly.

Waving his hand angrily, Bert shouted, "Shut up. Let the flurg-la-burglar-hobbit talk."

Surprised that it was working as well as it was, Bilbo continued, "The secret to cooking dwarf is-is, umm…"

Catching her smile in the firelight as her cousin stumbled over his words, Tom stepped over to the pile, frowning down at Poppy. Her smile immediately vanished. She didn't like how he was examining her like one did a loaf of bread or a slab of meat. He was still looming when Bilbo shouted after some impatient urging, "The…The secret is to…skin them first!"

No small amount of protest and shouting greeted that suggestion. "Tom," Bert ordered, "get me my filleting knife."

"What a load of rubbish," Bill protested, still turning the spit. "I've eaten plenty with their skins on."

The trolls continued arguing for a few moments in which the hobbit saw a flash of grey robes in infant sunlight. Gandalf was there somewhere. He needed to buy for more time. He was not the only one to have seen the small spark of hope.

Eyes shifting from Poppy to the largest of the group, Tom nodded, "Aye, there's nothing wrong with a bit of raw dwarf." As he picked up Bombur, holding him upside down over his open mouth, he concluded, "Nice and crunchy."

"NO! No, not that one!" Bilbo shouted, the fear in his voice getting the trolls' attention enough for Tom to give pause. "He-He's infected! Yes, he's got worms in-in his tubes."

Tom immediately threw Bombur back onto the pile, the impact shoving Bombur into Gloin, Gloin into Fili, and therefore Fili's face back into Poppy's chest. A squeak not unlike that of a surprised rabbit escaped her throat. If they lived through this, he was never going to be able to apologize enough.

Continuing to feed the stupid creatures' fear, her cousin continued, "Yes, they're all infected with parasites. It's a nasty business. I wouldn't risk it; I really wouldn't."

"We don't have parasites!" Kili shouted from further up the pile. The others all shouted things to similar effect, except for Fili who really didn't have the ability to speak. From the back, Thorin noticed the irritated eye roll Bilbo gave and finally understood. Giving his nephew a harsh kick, he brought the shouting to a stop. Quite suddenly, everyone understood their burglar's plan.

"I-I've got parasites as big as my arm!" Oin offered.

"I've got HUGE parasites!" Kili added. With an approving nod, Bilbo turned back to the trolls.

Taking a few steps forward, Bill demanded, "What would you have us do then? Let them all go?"

Before Bilbo could reply to that, Tom suggested from where he'd begun to poke Poppy in the side through the bag, "This one doesn't look like a dwarf. It isn't hairy enough. It's got a braid, but it hasn't got a beard, not even stubble. Maybe it's not got the parasites..."

Summoning up as much offense as she possibly could, Poppy exclaimed loudly enough to draw attention to herself, "I beg your half-witted pardon, but I am a _female_ thank you very much!"

Shoving Tom aside, Bert looked at her oddly, grabbing her bag by the bottom and lifting her off the ground, sniffing at her face. Hastily looking about, her attention managing to switch from her former positioning to getting out of the predicament, she caught Bilbo's eye and nodded slightly. In the next moment, she attempted not to vomit as troll breath washed over her when it spoke, "Now that you mention it. She does smell a sight better…"

"Why thank you," she coughed out sarcastically.

"She-She is the secret!" Bilbo shouted, getting the trolls' attention once again. He'd understood the glance she'd sent him. They were stalling for more time. "Female dwarf is the secret to cooking dwarf!"

"But-But she can't be a dwarf," Tom objected. "She's too small. Look at her."

Bert shook her a bit then promptly picked up Kili from the top of the pile by his feet and hung them both out before him, trying to gauge their height. His giant hands shook tremendously and the two repeatedly knocked into one another. Groaning loudly in pain as Kili's irritatingly hard head smacked right into hers with an audible 'thwack', she had to blink rapidly to keep from losing consciousness _again_.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Kili whispered hurriedly.

Bilbo didn't fail to notice and piped up again, more loudly, "She's a-a _miniature_ dwarf!"

The entire glade froze for a split second, the trolls with confusion and the dwarves with wide eyes. Had he _really_ just said that?! Pressing on with some well-feigned nonchalance, Bilbo added, "They're everywhere these days. I can't believe you haven't seen one before. They're more numerous than regular dwarves."

"But how does the female dwarf work?" Bert questioned, accepting Bilbo's explanation without a thought.

"You…You…You rub her across the rest of the others. See she smells better so she makes them not taste as bad, although I'm not sure you want to risk the parasites with her, either."

Face losing all blood and her eyes widening, Poppy looked down at her cousin and mouthed, "_Rubbing_?! _Honestly?_" He frowned, sending a look that clearly said it was that or tell them to chop her up. Gasping as she yet again collided with an annoyingly solid Kili, she mouthed fiercely, "_Jelly! Squish me first!_!"

If she were on the ground, she could roll about and keep them occupied longer. It also beat being rubbed against all the dwarves like a piece of clothing against a wash board! If they survived, she wasn't sure she'd ever get over the awkwardness. It was bad enough that Fili's face had been forced into her and she was closest to him of them all. Being put in that position with the others—Gloin, Dwalin, _Thorin_—was unimaginable!

Shrugging, Bert acquiesced, "All right." He took Kili and Poppy each in one hand and then clapped them together, squeezing tightly. Both shouted in pain on impact and felt absolutely no better once Poppy's face was shoved roughly into his back. She swore she could feel her nose creaking.

"Wait! Wait! You're not doing it right. You have to squash her first. You make her into a jelly and then you…marinate the others in it." The look on Bilbo's face clearly said he couldn't believe those words had just come out of his mouth, but had to do something as Kili's face reddened with lack of oxygen and Poppy's couldn't even be seen.

"That sure seems like an awful lot of work," the Tom interjected stupidly.

The cook glared at him, letting go of both figures in his hands, dropping them to the ground in a heap with a scream and a surprised shout, "Good food is worth some work, you lazy idiot. Now help me squash her!"

Eyes widening, Poppy kicked Kili's bag away toward the others and then quickly began to roll, only to find a giant troll foot looming above her, making her squeak in fear. She rolled again to her left, away from the fire. The trolls came slowly after her, almost losing their balances after every stamp of a foot that narrowly missed. As the dim trio bungled about behind her, she ripped away the tie of the sack and soon found herself on her feet again.

Her blow from Kili's head left her distinctly dizzy and more than a bit nauseous, but she kept herself upright, noticing the gleam of dawn over the rocks near them. It wouldn't be long…hopefully.

"Oi, she's gotten out!" Bill shouted.

Taking full advantage of their idiocy, she ran right in amongst their still tangled feet. Tom stamped on Bert's foot harshly and the latter shouted, taking a swing at his companion. "Hey, I'm not the miniature dwarf, you halfwit!"

Without really thinking, she leapt and grabbed a hold of Tom's disgusting loincloth and pulled herself upward to the troll's shoulders, managing to avoid being smacked as they tried to get her, not realizing they were soundly beating their friend, until Tom finally took a hard hit to the side of the head. "Oh…"

He began to sway dangerously and she lost her balance, allowing Bill to snatch her up by one leg as Bert tried to keep Tom upright.

His already ugly face was creased in pain and anger when he growled, "Enough with this. We'll just fry her a bit and call it done! Then we eat the others, too!"

The dwarves and Bilbo erupted in angry protests as he walked her toward the fire. She screamed in fear, having to hold up her braid to keep her hair from catching fire, her eyes wide as they stared at the flames below her, the heat strong on her face. Whatever mindless bravery she'd had in the moments before was gone and she froze.

Seeing her stop struggling and start trembling from his place stuck beneath Gloin, Fili shouted through the din, "Poppy! Poppy!"

Her name didn't get her attention over the noise, so he desperately tried another one, forcing his voice to rise above the others, "Anna! Anna, don't look down! Look over here!"

Blue eyes snapped over to find his immediately, completely and utterly terrified. As Bilbo tried to get the trolls' attention back with culinary advice and the others shouted angry threats of painful death and dismemberment, he tried to keep her calm, "It's going to be all right, Anna!"

She nodded weakly from her still upside down state.

Causing her to cry out, Bill suddenly shook her angrily in her cousin's direction and accused, "This little ferret is taking us for fools!"

"_Ferret?!_" The offense in Bilbo's voice would have made Poppy laugh were she not scared stiff.

"THE DAWN WILL TAKE YOU ALL!" rang out Gandalf's voice clearly through the morning air, bringing light in and of itself.

"Who's that? Can we eat him, too?"

Bert looked about to answer Tom's question when an earsplitting crack rang out as Gandalf brought down his staff upon the rock, revealing the dawn in all its brilliance to the trolls. Immediately their skin began to transform into pure stone, the feeling of it against her ankle surprising Poppy out of any fear-induced trance.

In less than a minute, the trolls were dead, Gandalf returned, everyone saved, and she still left hanging upside down. Cheers and laughter rang out through the clearing as the wizard rejoined them. Looking to the trembling Poppy, he said soothingly, "I'll be right with you, Anna. Just give me a moment to get the others down."

She nodded weakly and watched as he got the spit off its posts and the others began escaping from their bags. Fili and Kili were out in record time, both sprinting toward the upside down girl. As Fili sidetracked to grab his war hammer, Kili smiled from where he stood at almost eyelevel. "How are you feeling, my lovely Poppy?"

"Concussed," she moaned, holding her head as blood continued to rush toward it.

The blonde dwarf was there within moments. Handing the hammer to Kili, he took a spot below her where he could catch her. Giving his brother a nod, Kili heft the hammer up and swung it at the stone troll hand. It took three good swings until the stone gave way, cracks racing through the formerly alive material.

With a shout of surprise, Poppy fell through the air for the length of an intake of breath before finding herself caught in two strong arms that immediately brought her into a warm and equally strong chest. Not caring who saw, she wrapped her arms around Fili's neck and buried her face in it.

Smiling slightly at having lived through the ordeal and having her apparently not as terribly embarrassed as he'd imagined, he swung her legs up and took hold of them. In no way did she complain. Clearing his throat awkwardly after a moment, he offered, "Poppy, I-I'm sorry about…earlier."

Laughing slightly, she shook her head, "…Let's just never mention that again."

"Agreed!"

Both laughed for a moment before she mused, "You called me Anna…" Unsure of how exactly she felt about that, Fili just nodded and continued to hold her in his arms as the others all freed themselves from their bags and redressed.

Gandalf appeared at their side after a few moments, his worry morphing into a smile. Kneeling down in front of the dwarf and his charge, he queried while looking at the bump on her head, "Are you quite all right, Anna?"

Mumbling against Fili's neck, her breath doing odd things to his stomach as it washed over the skin beneath his ear, she shook her head, "No."

The others had all crowded around by then in various states of undressed, Bilbo shoving his way to the front, to find out what was wrong with their little hobbit. Something in her tone saying she wasn't as hurt as they all expected, Gandalf prompted with a smile, "Why is that, my dear?"

"Because Kili is too hardheaded."

After a short surprised pause, the others all began to laugh at his expense, though Kili just continued smiling at the position his brother was currently in. The blonde brother noticed and sent him a warning glare that was completely ignored.

With a final smile in the pair's direction, Gandalf pushed himself up with his staff. Clapping Fili on the shoulder, he ordered, "Take good care of her, Fili, lad. She'll be dizzy for a good while if I'm any judge," before striding toward Thorin on the edge of camp, bumping one of the trolls with his staff as he went.

Smiling at the girl in his arms, though she was still buried too far in his neck to see her face, Fili joked as the others all went back to recovering their belongings, their actions jovial and happy at being alive, "Poppy, you really need to stop running into these fights with things more than double your size."

Noticing his teasing for what it was, she brought her face out and smiled back at him, "Well, then everything that wants to eat me needs to stop being so big." Grinning more widely, he carried her back to where his swords were. Frowning, noticing Thorin's less than cheerful gaze upon them from where he spoke with Gandalf, she asked, "Aren't you going to put me down?"

"No, I wasn't planning on it, Anna." She knew that grin well enough not to argue with it as she tried to fight down the swell in her chest at hearing that name in his voice.

* * *

A/N: Well, there we are! :) I do hope you all enjoyed. I had fun writing this one. Thank you for all your wonderful thoughts! Other than that, I really don't have much to say for once. :) So, thanks so much for reading, review if you could, and I hope you enjoyed. See you Wednesday.


	28. Mad As Rabbits

An element of discontent in his voice that was meant to cover the relief he was actually feeling, Thorin Oakenshield looked up at Gandalf, asking the smiling wizard, "And where did you go to, if I may ask."

"To look ahead," his companion answered amiably, though failing to mention his intent had been not only to keep from strangling the stubborn dwarf but also to look for Anna's disappearing orcs. He had found no sign and was nurturing a burgeoning hope that it had indeed just been a pair of riders sent from one stronghold to another. An entire pack seemed unlikely unless they were much farther north than he expected. Also, what leader would have discovered their quest? Dwarves were nothing if not famous for jealously guarding their secrets.

"What brought you back?"

"Looking behind." The two exchanged a smile at that, silently offering and accepting apologies. Gandalf wondered passingly if Thorin realized just how little he allowed the expression to grace his face, though he supposed he had his reasons.

The dwarf's expression soon faded, a wary one taking its place. Following his gaze, the wizard saw young Fili refusing to put Anna down, wide smiles on both their faces as she affectionately rolled her eyes at him. The way she had reemerged into someone resembling who she once was made a part of his chest swell with hope. Something told him Thorin was decidedly not feeling that way.

Sighing internally, knowing that that particular relationship was something else the king would prove infuriatingly stubborn about, he commented as a distraction, "Nasty business. Still though, you're all in one piece."

"No thanks to your burglar and forester."

Unwilling to allow the scathing comment about the hobbits to slide, the old man's grey eyes narrowed. The bite in his tone was not apparent, but hiding just below the surface, when he replied, "Bilbo had the nerve to play for time. None of the rest of you thought of that. And had Anna not distracted them for as long as she did, my arrival would have been too early and not nearly as helpful."

Despite the patronizing he saw in the man's eyes, Thorin had to reluctantly agree, inclining his head slightly to show it. Bilbo's quick thinking had proved useful and Poppy…well, she didn't think at all it seemed, but her heart put her courage in the right place. Why did hobbits have to be so fragile? Were they sturdier he could stop worrying so very much.

Taking the dwarf's attention away from those thoughts and from following a happy peal of laughter that came from the direction Poppy, Fili, and Bifur were in, the wizard added pensively, gazing toward the rocky hills to their north, "They must have come down from the Ettenmoors."

"Since when do mountain trolls venture this far south?"

"Oh not for an age. Not since a darker power ruled these lands." The thought was truly troubling and Thorin seemed to realize just how seriously the wizard was taking it, for his own expression darkened in kind. "They could not have moved in daylight."

Drawing a conjecture from that, he gave a nod, "There must be a cave nearby. We can regroup for a few hours, get some breakfast and a bit of sleep, and find it before pressing on for the day."

"Very well," Gandalf replied rather absently, mind visiting various deep recesses of knowledge in an attempt to come to some sort of conclusion that did not involve the Enemy. Yes, little Anna's orcs were becoming troubling indeed. Trolls, orcs, wargs…all they needed to round things terribly out was a balrog or some other menace. As Thorin turned, heading straight toward his elder nephew, the wizard pulled out his pipe. He needed some Old Toby to calm his mind and allow it to think logically in the few hours Thorin gave them.

* * *

"And I thought _I_ took a long time to dress."

Fili snorted loudly at the comment Poppy had whispered in his ear as they stood by, waiting for the others to finish reequipping themselves. Fili had yet to completely rearm himself, though he couldn't say he was in an entirely big hurry. Gandalf had said to take care of her, so take care of her he would. He could wait until Bifur was reassembled before giving her up. A similar laugh escaped Bilbo where he stood beside them.

From the corner of his eye, Dwalin glanced over, "What're you laughing about now, lad?"

Noting his lack of armor and weapons, the younger dwarf being clad in his boots, pants, and slate grey tunic, Bofur wryly added, "You're in no condition to be laughing at us…no matter how witty Poppy manages to be." She grinned widely at the storyteller.

"How is your head, dearie?" She was given little time to answer before Dori was before them and gently pulling her braid to the side to take a look at the growing bump above her left ear. She and Fili exchanged a smile at the older dwarf's concern. He'd told her Dori would hover affectionately forever more.

Thorin's voice halted Dori's ministrations and their shared smile. "We'll rest here for a few hours. Fili, Kili, come on. We're going to get our things from the old camp. Get dressed. Let's go!"

Passing her to Dori, knowing full well not to try his uncle when he spoke in that voice, Fili gazed her at apologetically before grabbing and pulling on the rest of his clothes and weapons. Within a few minutes, he and Kili were striding purposefully after their uncle into the trees.

Feeling suddenly quite self-conscious as the others glanced from her to the three disappearing heirs of Durin, Poppy forced a smile to the dwarf holding her. Voice quiet, she offered, "You can put me down so you can sleep. I'll be fine. I'm not even dizzy anymore." At his disbelieving look, seeming to know why she felt the need to fall back into the shadows, she pressed, "I'm fine."

With a nod, Dori gently set her on her feet, "We'll see, dearie. Bifur, a little help with our stubborn hobbit, please."

Finally again clothed in all his many layers, her first friend appeared at her side. Before she could attempt to take a step—though she was wary of how well that would go despite her words—he pulled her into a quick hug. He gave her a searching look that silently asked if she were truly all right or if she was pretending for their sakes. Allowing a small grin to break through, she squeezed his arm. Yes, she was all right. A little flustered at Thorin's actions, but all right…she thought.

A smile appearing above his wild beard he took most of her weight from Dori. Barking something in Khuzdul that, from the way Dori grinned, she took to be teasing her, her helpers warily let go of her arms. Almost immediately overwhelmed by dizziness, she took one step and promptly fell down.

The two dwarves lunged for her and she found herself in a sitting position without any work on her part. Beginning to laugh, the discomfort Thorin had created lessening, she smiled at them both, though wider and far more genuinely. "I blame Kili."

Seeing the change and hearing it in the openness of her voice, the two looked at one another and then down at her. Both reached out arms to help her stand again. Once upright, she closed her eyes for a few long moments, clutching at their sleeves. Tentatively blinking her eyes open, she opened them to find the world no longer spinning so terribly. Holding her arms out for balance to the amusement of all, she took a few shaky steps forward in an effort to go and collect her pack from its bush.

Upon gathering her supplies, she made her way toward Bilbo and Gandalf, who was darkly puffing away on his pipe. The wizard had collected her staff at some point before. As she pulled her braid over her shoulder and secured her 'weapon' to her back, she grinned drowsily at her cousin as he fidgeted to become comfortable on the ground as the others began to take their rest, "A _miniature_ dwarf, Bilbo?"

He chuckled, "You're the one who tried to learn to _fly_ in order to save me."

Sitting on her heels and grasping his hand, she added with a smile, "You're my big cousin. I'd learn how to lift mountains if it kept you safe." Pushing herself back up, she explained quietly, "I'm going to go get the ponies. I'll be back later."

Smiling at her steadfast devotion, he squeezed her hand before pulling his jacket over his face to block out the light and sleep himself. While her bravery had shown itself far more often, a part of him knew—a Tookish part of him just _knew_—that he would do the same for her.

With those reassuring thoughts, at least some part of him believing in his capacity for courage, Bilbo fell asleep to the by then comforting sound of Bombur and Dwalin's snores.

The burglar was not awake for the return of the Durin kin, or Kili's attempt to rudely awaken him by pouring out his water skein atop his head. With a raised eyebrow, Bifur brought an end to that idea, the dwarf finding it difficult to sleep with the lass gone.

Also noticing her absence, Fili wondered quietly aloud, "Where's Poppy?"

"_Ponies_," Bifur said by way of explanation, noting his king's irritation look in his nephew's direction at the query.

The brothers, after lying down their burdens, took places beside the old warrior, leaning back to take short naps themselves. Kili didn't quite manage his as he began tossing small twigs in the sleeping hobbit's direction.

* * *

A rather large pebble hit its mark with more force than before after a few hours and a nap on Kili's part, the sun high in the sky and Gandalf's smoke rings still densely rising toward the clouds. Jolting awake with a strangled cry as something hard and unknown connected with his face, Bilbo sat straight up, it taking him a moment to realize he still had a jacket covering him.

Tearing it off, he whirled about to find the source…he found Kili failing to hold back his laughter, an occasional snort escaping in his amusement. Glaring, Bilbo groaned and hurled his jacket in the dwarf's direction, it hitting him square in the face. The laughter that escaped the younger dwarf then effectively woke up the others to irritated groans and complaints.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, not actually having slept himself, Thorin barked, "Let's find this cave then. We can still make a few miles before nightfall."

The bite from earlier had not left his tone and the others noticed. With no further dark mutterings, the Company readied itself to follow their leader.

"But where are the ponies?" Ori questioned through a yawn as they left the clearing, not finding Bella anywhere about.

Pipe still in his mouth, Gandalf replied before Thorin could, "Little Anna is finding them." Letting out a great sigh and some of the weight of his worry move to the back of his mind, he added, "Keep close now. We do not know what a troll hoard might harbor, young Ori."

And so the thirteen dwarves and their burglar trudged forward making their way up the steepening hill, following the stench as much as Gandalf. Upon reaching the effective hole in the stone, it winding its way down into the earth rather than back into the hill, they found more than just the trolls' daytime retreat.

Upwind of the cave, their tails swishing back and forth to fight the more numerous flies, stood their herd of ponies, Poppy lying on Minty's back. Both steed and rider were snoozing in a pocket of bright sunlight, their similar chocolate hair blazing redder in the light.

Noticing his uncle's eyes on him, Fili abruptly hid the glowing grin that wanted to spread across his face from ear to ear. At least until Thorin was in a better mood, he would have to be more careful about being close to her. The prospect made his stomach turn unhappily.

"HEY!"

While Minty and the other ponies reared their heads back in surprise, more than one letting out a sharp surprised whicker at Thorin's harsh voice, Poppy didn't stir aside from soothingly patting her bed's neck. She had heard them and awakened before they reached the cave.

Peering at the king with one blue eye, she replied drowsily, "Good afternoon, Thorin." Yawning, she sat up and then slid down, "I'll watch the ponies as you explore."

She didn't really wish to tell him as he glared at her like that that she had no intention of going in there, the smell making her nauseous from where she currently was, let alone inside.

Gandalf smiling lightly, he went forward, "Well, the smell is not going to lessen the longer we stand here. Let us get this over with."

"Aww, what's that stench?!" Bofur questioned immediately upon taking a few steps forward.

"This is a _troll hoard_, master dwarf," Poppy heard Gandalf admonish from deeper within the darkness, making her smile slightly. Glancing back after Thorin had gone in, Fili turned and grinned at her. She was unable to keep one from appearing on her face as well.

The stillness of the woods calmed Poppy as she sat beside Bifur who had not found braving the cave a necessary event, waiting with the ponies. There was such a peaceful balance to nature that she could never experience enough. The sounds and songs of the birds, the rustling of trees and branches as their denizens moved about, somehow all added to the stillness. The surface was still, but right beneath the life flowered forth. It was a wonderful contradiction, though she knew of people who could express it far better than she.

Sighing, watching her companions go down into the dark of the cave, she pondered why her mind was in such a not-wonderful contradiction. Something unpleasant had been writhing about in her mind, blowing everything out of proportion she suspected. It was likely lack of sleep, though her nap had not aided its dissolution.

It had been a long twenty-four hours—long four _days_ really—and she wondered if her mind was beginning to just get tired. It had not worried about so much in a long while. As she sat, Bifur's comforting presence beside her, her thoughts sprinted like a scared deer from Fili falling on her, how her stomach had exploded with warmth along with her face, to Bilbo almost being killed by trolls, to the shadowy threat of orcs; from her lack of knowledge putting them in possible danger to how Thorin had glared at her in Fili's arms, like she had no more right to be there than an orc; from wondering if she was really accepted by her companions or just imagining things to wishing her headache would go away; from continuing to fight down stubbornly active pieces of her guilt to trying to understand why just getting a smile from Fili made her entire body gain an unexpected fever.

It was all just too much for too little time.

Seeing a good bit of her conflict in her blue eyes, Bifur laid an arm across her shoulders, squeezing the one furthest from him. Smiling slightly, he barked out one word that she had heard many a time.

"_Breathe_."

Recognizing the syllables from her lessons, she smiled weakly up at him, taking a deep breath in through her mouth. Despite almost swallowing one of the many flies, she felt better afterward. Giving her an encouraging wink, Bifur stood and rejoined the others as they emerged from the cave, chatting about their finds, a new sword in Thorin's grasp. From where she sat, she saw Gandalf hand her cousin a small sword. She desperately hoped he would never have to use it, though that aching place in her chest clearly sensed the folly in that wish.

And there her mind went again. Pushing herself up, the hobbit ventured quickly out of the clearing about the mouth of the cave and back into the denser trees, taking solace in the comfort of the simple life about her, losing herself in it for a few moments.

Life was simpler when the only ones you shared it with had four legs or wings. It was easier when your visitors only came once a year and when they were there you were in far too much awe to worry about anything. Life was simpler when she was hiding in her cousin's hobbit hole, not out in the wild, worrying stupidly about if a certain blonde-dwarf liked her back, if she was really as unwanted as her darkest fears whispered that she was.

Her thoughts really just needed to _stop_ leaping from one thing to the next with the speed of a rabbit!

Speaking of rabbits, a loud snapping of branches caught her attention just in time to see her line of vision filled with the leaping creatures. With a surprised shout, she soon found herself flat on her back, being animatedly hopped upon, something wooden sliding to a stop against her leg.

"Thieves! Fire! Murder!"

Screaming with shock once again, she looked up to see an old man clad in brown shouting at the top of his lungs from his…_sled_?! As she looked on in complete and utter confusion, no less than ten wiggling noses continued rapidly sniffing at her, one of the rabbits climbing into her lap and twitching its ears as it looked at her. There was far more fear in her blues eyes than its black, she had no doubt.

Frowning, she breathed in a whisper, "What in the name of Yavanna…?"

Within moments her companions had leapt from the underbrush, weapons all out at the ready, startling a shout from her once again. Fili and Kili had all three of their swords in hand and between her and the odd man before she completely comprehended they were there, neither of them hesitating a second before getting between her and the perceived danger.

The heavily-breathing rabbits spared the two brothers a short glance before climbing on Poppy once again. She was still trying to understand what exactly was going on and where the large bunnies had come from as they strained against their harnesses to wriggle their little noses at her face.

Stepping forward, breaking the moment's tension, a smile on his face, Gandalf greeted, "Radagast!"

* * *

A/N: And thus we can all say hello to Radagast! Hello, good sir! Apologies, I'm in a bit of an odd mood today. So, this is a bit of a filler, but every sandwich needs its condiments. Though, I must say I'm sorry because I may have to leave you here until Saturday or Sunday. I am presenting at a history conference this weekend and will likely not have much time.

On another note, thank you for all your lovely thoughts! :D I'm glad you all enjoyed my version of the troll scene. So, may I just say thank you so much for reading, review if you could, and I hope you enjoyed. :)


	29. The Orc Pack

"_Radagast!_"

A smile appeared on Gandalf's face as he added, "Radagast the Brown."

The wizard? Bilbo's eyes snapped up from where he watched his cousin being mauled by overly-affectionate-when-scared rabbits to take in the figure before them.

When they had heard Poppy's scream and the crash of underbrush that immediately followed, the odd man was not what he'd been expecting. When Gandalf had said to arm themselves and Bilbo truly grasped his sword for the first time, this had not been the outcome he envisioned. Though he couldn't say he was complaining. The figure seemed more odd than dangerous.

Clad all in brown as his surname, or title rather, suggested, the man was just shorter than Gandalf, his hat not having nearly the height. Something that looked suspiciously like dried bird excrement ran in a stream from the brim of his wide-winged hat down to his unkempt beard. Well, now that he looked at the wizard, it was far easier to imagine him as a bit of a hermit. Also, was that a _sled_ he was driving? A rabbit-drawn sled…

No, no one at home would ever believe what he'd seen. He was going to be nicknamed 'Crazy Baggins' and he'd never be respectable again. He was sure of it.

Their wizard's voice and its change from completely jovial to wary took him from his thoughts, "What on earth are you doing here?"

It took a moment for Radagast to stop staring out into the distance, his knuckles white where he held his sled and eyes wide as he breathed heavily. Instead of his fellow Istari's words, it was Poppy's that pulled him from his stupor.

She was fond of rabbits, quite fond indeed, but they _needed_ to stop all trying to reach and sit on her head at once. After receiving the last of numerous kicks to the chest, she gasped out, gently fighting the creatures down as she struggled to sit, "Yes, yes, I love you, too. My lap isn't nearly big enough for all of you, so let's just calm down. Ow, no, my neck is not for nibbling on. That is _not_ for rabbits."

A tilt of his head to the side the first motion he'd made, the brown wizard asked in a whisper, "Gandalf, when did you get such a rabbit? Have you had her long?"

Freezing where she sat as a bunny bounded its way onto her shoulder, Poppy blinked stupidly at the man. Her mouth gaped open like a fish's before she managed with true confusion, "I beg your pardon?"

Finding Gandalf's eyes, he nodded with ill-timed though quite comprehensive enthusiasm, "It's like she's speaking! Where did you find such a large rabbit, Gandalf? Mine are quite particular about who they befriend, though they seem to like her."

Eyes flitting to her old friend, she whispered in the voice she often used to try and calm animals, as if scared she would spook the odd figure to anger, "Gandalf, does he _honestly_ think I am a rabbit?"

"No!" Radagast exclaimed, making them all flinch, a wide smile stretching across his face, "She is not a rabbit at all, is she! She's Anna! I've heard you spoken of, little rabbit. I should have recognized you before!"

As she stared at him with wide, shocked, and clearly disconcerted eyes, his smile remained, his gaze not straying from her. First she was a rabbit and then he knew her name, _that_ name. Poppy couldn't get up the presence of mind to say a word.

Looking quite perturbed himself, the grey wizard coughed slightly, gaining his fellow's attention and repeating his question, "What are you doing here?"

Face contorting and going completely from one end of the emotional spectrum to the other, Radagast gasped out, fear again on his face and in his hurried voice, "I was looking for you, Gandalf. Something's wrong. Something's terribly wrong." He punctuated each word with a shaky hand gesture, his body twitching not unlike his jittery steeds.

"Yes…?" Gandalf nodded, warily urging him to continue.

The other wizard's mouth opened, his face full of purpose and knowledge…and then it was gone. He tried a few more times, a hopeful expression being conjured up every time. Finally, frowning, tilting his head as if moving his brain would cause something to slip back into place, he muttered, "Just give me a minute. Oh! I had a thought and now I've lost it. It was right on the tip of my tongue."

"Wait," Radagast concluded with a small laugh, "it's not a thought at all." Waiting as Gandalf reached over and carefully extracted a bug from atop his tongue with two fingers, he added helpfully, "It's a silly old stick insect."

Had Poppy not been the only one with an expression of shock and confusion by that time, she was certainly not alone after that. Frowning, an eyebrow rising of its own accord, Bilbo gazed on, wondering if the wizard had had anything to drink already that day…He swore he'd never met an odder person in all his life.

Also, how on earth did he know that name for Poppy?!

As Gandalf pulled his colleague aside, giving them all a look that said to stay put, Radagast called happily back to the girl with a little wave of his staff, "Do watch them for me, little rabbit! They've run a long way."

Stepping forward, Bilbo knelt beside his still stunned cousin. Pushing a particularly bouncy rabbit down before it could leap onto his back, he asked quietly, "How on earth does he know you?"

Eyes still wide, she shook her head.

"What does that mean, he should've recognized you?"

Again her head shook. Glancing up at him, she whispered, "I haven't the faintest idea. How did he think I was a rabbit? Do I _look_ like a rabbit?"

Letting out an apprehensive chuckle at that, Bilbo shrugged, "Completely bonkers, that one." Reaching out, he tentatively patted one of the rabbits' heads. It stared at him for a moment before its ears perked forward and it stood up higher on its hind legs, searching for another pat. Smiling slightly, in awe at being so close to the skittish animals, he looked to Poppy with some pride. He hadn't been able to do this since they were both small and she had coaxed a cottontail out of its den, her continuous soothing voice keeping it calm enough for him to pet.

Her eyes were no longer on him or the animals, however. Her hands continued absently petting them where they crowded about her, each vying for a spot in her lap, but her gaze rested over Bilbo's shoulder.

When the wizards had turned to converse on their own, the dwarves had bunched together, a few poking through their gear and repacking things. The others stood talking lowly in groups, looking over at the two conversing Istari. Fili was standing beside Dwalin, a smile upon his face at something the warrior had said but unhappiness clear in his eyes and the way he stood.

Frowning, wondering why the less-irritating of the brothers was not with Poppy as he'd come to both expect and accept, Bilbo looked between the two. That morning they had been thick as thieves as usual. Had she not looked so very happy in the dwarf's arms, he would have made a comment about it. The genuine joy that had practically radiated off of his cousin and the knowledge that she was disinclined to take to his meddling if she didn't ask for it had given him pause.

Though a part of him would look at every male that looked at his cousin with the urge to chase them down the lane with his garden shovel, Bilbo was more than aware that Poppy needed friends, needed people besides just him to care about her. Fili gave her that and he wasn't one to try and muck about with it…or Poppy's temper for the aforementioned meddling.

However, something now seemed wrong. Whereas hours before the two had appeared as happy in one another's company as ever, after Thorin had ordered his nephews back…

And there lay the problem, Bilbo concluded. Thorin had _done something_. Eyes narrowing slightly, he looked about to find the dwarf king. He found Kili first, an equally displeased expression on his face as he looked from his brother to the girl who had become his friend.

They exchanged a knowing glance, at the end of which both sighed.

Sitting back on a rock, Kili continued fiddling absently with his bowstring after Bilbo looked back to the rabbits, something he said drawing Poppy's attention from looking rather forlornly at his brother. Letting out an angrier sigh, the dwarf dug the toe of his boot into the dirt.

He loved his uncle, he really did, but sometimes, one some occasions, he wondered at Thorin's actions. Something that none of them took the nerve to guess at had put him in a foul mood that morning and, as usual, the hobbit had been the one to take the brunt of the blame for it. Kili wondered what part of his uncle's thought process made it necessary to find so many faults in her.

The same thing had often happened to Fili in their youth, well _younger_ youth. As the heir, his actions had been far more scrutinized than Kili's, and though he often pretended not to notice for Fili's sake, the younger brother had. Perhaps it was the combination of that old habit and the new one of searching for a concrete reason to send the stubborn hobbit home that had prompted the dark words they'd been told while going to gather the remnants of the first camp.

Voice gruff and harsh, the tone that said _not_ to argue with him, their uncle had laid down in no uncertain terms that they were on a quest, a quest to regain their homeland, and neither of them had better forget it. They had one purpose and one purpose only on that journey and it was to regain their birthright, their home. Given the look of pure loathing he had sent Poppy's way before Fili had relinquished his hold on her, neither brother could doubt the purpose of the talk was to warm them away from the girl. It seemed that his brother had taken the words to heart, at least for the duration of their uncle's foul mood.

Poppy—shy, insecure little Poppy—obviously did not understand completely.

Kili was beginning to understand why he'd often heard his mother mutter angrily 'If that blasted dwarf would rather pretend to be a stone than admit he has a heart, then I'll gladly take a pick to him to find it and place the thing in his cold, cranky hands!'. The line of Durin certainly had a way with expressing themselves.

The whole predicament displeased the younger dwarf immensely. He'd just gotten Fili to admit he liked Poppy! All his hard work was for naught. There had been the potential for so much teasing! More importantly, it was his brother's heart at stake. True, he'd only admitted that he liked her and that certainly didn't mean he was going to flop down on the ground on one knee and propose to her, but he could tell there was something different about her. He couldn't describe it and he knew that Fili couldn't, but it was in the way his brother just got happy when she was around, physically or in his thoughts. There was no possible way that that could be a bad thing, no matter what Thorin said.

To say the least, Kili was disheartened as the two wizards continued to speak, their words unintelligible but their tones decidedly dark especially after Radagast handed Gandalf something sword-shaped.

Not long after, a long, low, blood-curdling noise rose upon the summer air. Every soul there paused where they were, even the rabbits' noses ceasing to twitch.

Bilbo's eyes widened as he slowly stood, Poppy right behind him, pushing the rabbits from her with some difficulty. "Was that a wolf? Are-Are there wolves out there?"

As not just one, but an entire chorus of howls rose to answer the first, he looked to Poppy for some kind of reassurance, like the night Fili and Kili had tried to convince him a screech owl was orcs. The stark white color her face had turned did not comfort him.

His mattock firmly in his grip, Bofur shook his head, "Wolf? No, that is not a wolf."

Hearing the snapping of twigs and a snarl so like the one she'd been so close to, Poppy abruptly turned to see a warg at the top of the crevice they were in, its lips pulled back over its deadly jaws. She hadn't the time to get a sound out or her staff from her back before it had leapt forward, flying over the hobbits and tackling Dwalin to the ground.

In a smooth motion that held no hesitance whatsoever, Thorin swung his new sword down into its throat. From behind him another appeared, though before it could take more than a few steps, Kili's arrow to its head had it as alive as its comrade.

"Warg scouts," Thorin declared as he ripped his sword from the dead beast's throat, "which means an orc pack is not far behind!"

"Orc pack?!" Bilbo questioned, his panic just below the surface.

Her quiet but distressed voice cutting through the continued howls, Poppy trembled as she whispered anxiously, "Gandalf, they weren't just passing through. They found us. They've turned south again."

Before the wizard could try and comfort her in any way, to tell her it was not her fault, Thorin shouted in her direction, "What do you mean 'they found us'? You knew about this, girl?!"

Given she was already trembling, clearly distraught, his tone did little to help. She physically recoiled, hers arms coming up as if to protect her from being struck should the need arise. Frowning heavily, his fears confirmed though one question left decidedly unanswered, Gandalf demanded before Thorin could do more damage, "Who did you tell about your quest beyond your kin?!"

"No one."

Thorin's glare was only pulled away from Poppy when the wizard's voice rose, its tenor demanding an answer, "WHO DID YOU TELL?!"

"NO ONE, I swear!" At the old man's troubled look and the look of determination that had set itself on the trembling hobbit's face, Thorin challenged, "What in Durin's name is going on? What did she not tell us? What danger has she put us in now?"

Sparing the king a short but heavy glare, Gandalf answered, "You are being hunted. And don't you dare start blaming her for forces beyond our control."

Turning the conversation back in the direction of the danger, Dwalin pressed, "We have to get out of here."

"We can't!" They all turned back to see Ori at the top of the ridge, clearly distressed. "We haven't any ponies. They bolted."

A ripple of panic went through the company, additional dismay for the ponies' wellbeing etched deep into Poppy's face, until Radagast's uncharacteristically fierce voice stopped it dead, "I'll draw them off."

"These are Gundabad wargs," Gandalf protested. "They'll outrun you!"

"These are Rhosgobel rabbits." A smug, almost saucy grin appeared on the brown wizard's face, "I'd like to see them try."

* * *

Within minutes, the company gathered together upon the edge of the forest, ready to dart out of the cover of the trees and take refuge behind a large rock until Radagast had surged forward to lead the wargs astray. Getting his rabbits lined up and settling himself onto the footboards of his sled, the odd brown wizard grinned as Poppy rushed by in Gandalf's wake.

Whispering with a nod of goodbye, he said with enthusiasm, "Take care, little rabbit. Remember the birds when you come upon my forest. They perch high these days, but they shall help one such as you."

Unsure of what else to do as Bifur's hand on her back urged her on, she wanly returned the smile and nodded, "Thank you."

And then they were sprinting out in the open, Gandalf in the lead as an even louder chorus of howls echoed through the hills. Poppy felt her blood run cold. She had slept through many nights with the howls of wolves filling the air, the sound beautiful and blood chilling at the same time. This, however, was different. The beauty in the sound was gone and only the hatred of the harsh, corrupted creatures remained.

Their hunting call still reverberated through the very earth when the group came to a temporary halt, Gandalf peering cautiously about the side of the rock. Breathing deeply in an effort to force her heart rate down in the time they had to rest, Poppy pressed herself up against the large stone, leaning her head back on its cool surface. Her lungs would need all the help they could get in mere moments she had no doubt. From beside her, Bifur offered a small smirk and a comforting squeeze to her shoulder, clearly trying to tell her it was going to be fine, that he was with her.

Returning the expression, starting to feel that odd calm she had when in danger, she reached up a hand and squeezed his arm in return. For all the good it would do, she was with him, too.

Their short moment of solidarity was cut short when the howling stopped and was replaced with a cacophony of angry snarls and the manic thudding of sprinting paws. "_Come and get me!_" and decidedly maniacal laughter followed immediately after and without seeing, they could all tell that Radagast had been discovered and was careening forward on his rabbit-propelled sled. Despite his oddity, Poppy sincerely hoped his rabbits proved as swift as he believed.

"Come on!" Gandalf managed to yell in a whisper, lifting his staff from the grass and racing over the rocky ground, fifteen shorter beings right on his heels.

Blood rang deafeningly in Bilbo's ears, making him wonder if his heart had somehow migrated north and settled in between them. At the very least it had to be in his throat as he felt his fear and panic getting caught at the back of it as they ran, his pack banging against his back. Only a loud, long howl breaking through the din in his head, he felt himself pitching suddenly forward. Two quick arms steadied him as the unseen rock he'd stepped on fell behind them as they kept rushing on, the pain in his foot falling to the wayside.

Glancing to either side, he found Poppy and Bifur holding him upright, urging him forward. At the fear in his eyes, a calm grin appeared on his cousin's face. Though he was unsure why, a space deep in his chest ignited at the sight. Something that was not fear began to drive his feet forward, telling his lungs to stop complaining and do their job. He wondered if that was the Took courage Gandalf was always going on about.

The hobbit focused only on forcing his legs to go faster, to keep up with his heavily burdened companions, when Poppy's voice cut through the air. Her braid flying out behind her as she sprinted, random curls breaking free, she called forward, "Gandalf, we're upwind! They'll smell us. We have to move."

Just as the words were out of her mouth, Radagast's sled and their pursuers raced past them. They all skidded to a stop and abruptly spun about-face. Going off at an angle, Gandalf urged, "Stay together."

Nodding, Thorin added as they turned away, "Move!"

His feet pounding lightly over the dry grass, Bilbo soon pulled away from Poppy and Bifur, coming up beside Dwalin and Balin as the snarls and howls again turned their way.

Grabbing Bombur's sleeve from where he was puffing mightily right behind her at the end of the line, the girl pulled him forward. Glancing behind them, seeing the chase approaching from the side yet again, she grabbed the largest of the swaying sacks from his shoulder and looped it about her own without a word.

They continued on, the wargs braying like hounds on all sides, chasing Radagast and his rabbits, until the large rocks they ran behind, obscuring them from sight, began to thin. Random clusters of pine trees could be seen about a mile from them. That would be a long sprint in the open Poppy's mind noted, managing to get a thought through the wall of tranquility that had gone up, the pumping of her heart almost soothing in its rhythm.

As that one thought got through, she began to feel the burn of her lungs and the aching of her feet, the rocky ground chafing even hobbit feet. Still at the end of the line, the group ground to a quick halt behind a boulder, Thorin having to pull Ori back from sight. "Ori no! Get back!"

Hastily taking another burden from Bombur, Poppy cinched them tight about her and then pulled out her staff. The stout dwarf looked like he meant to protest but he couldn't get a word out through his puffing.

Heaving up with all her strength, she grabbed him under the arm as they again began to run again, vaguely hearing Thorin ask. "Where are you leading us?" Gandalf chose not to answer. Eyes never ceasing in their self-imposed duty of looking behind, Poppy ran on, hauling Bombur with her to the best of her ability. They had not reached the open space yet, and she hoped they would remain unnoticed long enough to cross it.

That aching part of her chest was almost buried underneath the screaming of her lungs but it clearly got the message through that it was unlikely, even with Radagast's aid. Her thoughts turning to the wizard, her eyes looked back, finding his careening sled still leading a large number of wargs away from them. Gaze still behind, not noticing that they had stopped and taken cover behind another rock, she sprinted straight into Nori's back, letting out an audible yelp of surprise upon impact with first the dwarf and then the ground as her momentum thrust her back.

She rolled a few feet, bouncing uncomfortably as her added cargo popped her up in the air. Before the hill could steepen and take her farther from the group, she dug her toes into the dirt at the same instant she felt two hands grab her under the shoulders. Before she had the chance to discern up from down again, her face was pressed into a panting chest.

Poppy didn't need to open her eyes to know that it was Fili's chest under her cheek or his arms holding her to him. For that short moment, she allowed the panic in her head to get through her walls, to flood through her and make her tremble. If being held by Fili didn't calm it some, then she wasn't sure what would.

Despite itself, her mind relaxed a little and she successfully shoved her worry back down, the calm coming back over her as she felt his chin and beard ghost across her forehead. Glancing up at her friend, she gave him a small smile as they huddled behind the rock. A short grin flashed back down at her until the sound of panting from an animal far larger than them filled their ears, an occasional snarl and sniffing coloring their hearing.

Bringing her gaze back down, her eyes finding Kili's bow to focus on, she held her breath. As the warg and its rider approached, she felt Fili suck in one of his own. His eyes were on his brother, the archer the only one who could take action. Kili and everyone else seemed to have come to that conclusion as well.

The warg's snout appearing over the edge, the time never better, Thorin nodded silently down at his youngest nephew's bow. Kili sucked in a short, deep breathe before stepping out, drawing the arrow and string back to his ear, and releasing before he let that same breath out.

It hit its mark in the warg's shoulder, sinking through flesh and muscle to find the lung beneath. A dying screech escaped it as another two arrows were shot into it and its rider, the orc's horn falling to the ground without making a sound except the dull thunk on impact. The two enemies skidded down the rock to the ground, both still alive. Dwalin and Bifur quickly remedied that, though with no small amount of noise.

Hand tightening about her staff, Poppy made to pull from Fili's embrace but the muscles in his arms tightened and he pulled her back, whispering fiercely in her ear, "No, Anna." Almost ashamed at how even in the predicament they were in, his low voice in his ear and breath on her neck could make her shiver, she mutely nodded.

As the dwarves' axes and swords descended upon the orc, she closed her eyes, turning her face into Fili's chest. With her sight gone, her ears attempted to pick up the slack, though that slack was not at all comforting. The world had gone silent aside from themselves: no howling, no snarling, no thundering paws.

They needed to go.

Shooting her head up and turning it toward Gandalf, she caught his gaze with wide eyes, silently telling him what she knew. He gave a nod after looking back into the distance, a howl rising on the air, "Move! RUN!"

Fili and Kili fell in beside her as Bofur grabbed his cousin's arm and hurried the large dwarf on, though with less to carry and the teeth of the beasts almost literally at their backs he didn't need much more encouragement. Leaping over rocks and small trees as she came to them, the hobbit sprinted along behind Gandalf, her hand clutching Fili's sleeve even as his hand turned to grab her forearm. They pulled one another along as the rocks fell behind them and the wargs did not.

The length of openness came and went and yet no cover was there to be found. The few gatherings of trees had deceived Poppy into thinking there might be something more, something preferably forest-like where the wargs' speed would no longer matter, hiding in the hills. There was not. She was too far behind the wizard and too preoccupied with breathing to reiterate Thorin's earlier question aloud.

Where on earth was Gandalf leading them?

For what felt like hours, though she knew couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes, they flat-out sprinted over the hills toward the too-distant mountains. From beside her and the brothers, Gloin shouted upon coming to a brief stop, "There they are!" Her eyes going the other way, finding Bilbo, she also found they were coming from the opposite direction.

The hobbit felt her stomach drop. Radagast had been completely forgotten, all wargs and their horrible riders zealously focusing their attention on the Company. As her legs shook beneath her, vaguely protesting her treatment of them in the back of her mind, she clutched at Fili's sleeve. Looking back, Bilbo caught her gaze. She couldn't manage a smile to help him this time, though one of resignation appeared on his face.

His head whipping from side to side, as if searching for something, Gandalf suddenly shouted, "This way!" and led them off again. They did not get very far that time as they found themselves in a dell, only a few trees and one large stone for cover as the wargs appeared on all sides, closing in.

Letting go of Poppy's arm, Fili grabbed his second sword and shouted, "We're surrounded!"

From behind them, at the center of the defensive circle about the stone they'd made, Thorin ordered, "Kili, shoot them!"

Pushing her added burdens from Bombur onto her back, Poppy planted herself at the archer's side. Kili stood on her left, Ori was on her right, and her staff was in her hands. Though she had no misconceptions about the lack of help she'd be, she might as well put her lessons to good use.

Arrows whizzed through the air relentlessly as Kili fired, though the wargs kept coming, the falling of their comrades only adding to their anger. Doing his bit, Ori let loose a stone from his slingshot. It hit the warg in front of him square in the nose. The creature's lips curled further over its teeth.

That lovely sensation of instant decision-making in the calm she felt taking over, Poppy stepped in front of the dwarf despite the warg coming ever closer. The thinking part of her brain screamed at her to stop, to stop being so bloody stupid and listen to it. Those thoughts were quickly silenced as the orc rider locked eyes with her, a menacing grin on its face. She refused to back down as Ori launched another stone at it, hitting it in the shoulder.

From Kili's other side, she heard Fili shout, apparently noticing her decision to come between Ori and a warg yet again, "Don't even think about it, Poppy!"

"I didn't!" she yelled back, something resembling a smile in her voice. "Besides, it's not that big!"

He was cut off from replying that it still wanted to eat her when Bofur cried, "Where's Gandalf?"

Neither Poppy nor Fili turned about to look for the apparently missing wizard when Dwalin replied, "He's abandoned us."

The hobbit found that hard to believe, but continued backing toward the stone with the others. Ori was pulled back into the circle by Nori, the younger dwarf being shoved next to Bilbo. No longer having him to worry about, Poppy fell back closer to Kili, deciding to do what she could to protect his right given that Fili had his left.

The seconds dragged on as the realization that they were likely unable to fight their way out of this dawned upon the companions. Only Poppy's functioning brain was too buried to force her to take notice of the likely outcome as Thorin shouted, "Hold your ground!"

From where it had been creeping closer, the orc who'd latched onto her before urged its mount forward, the beast leaping for her. Quickly turning, Kili had an arrow through its eye before it again hit the ground, another in the rider's throat within moments.

Upon all sides, the other wargs followed suit, beginning to strike forward.

"THIS WAY YOU FOOLS!"

Popping up from what appeared to be the inside of the rock, Gandalf shouted at the lot of them. As one most of the company turned and sprinted toward the wizard, Thorin urging them on, "Come on! All of you!"

Still shooting off arrows, Kili had yet to move even after Fili had smacked him on the arm and nodded toward the stone. Eyes darting from the wargs to her friend as she stayed beside him, that aching place in her chest unwilling to be anything but the last to turn, she commented with some urgency rising through her calm, "Kili, we should go. Kili…!"

He seemed not to hear her and they remained there until Thorin bellowed, "KILI!"

With that the dwarf turned and sprinted back, the hobbit on his heels. She leaped over the front stone, finding a concealed crevice behind it. Thorin's large hand practically hurling her forward, she skidded down toward the others, pitching forward and landing on her face at their feet.

Bombur and Bifur had her up on her feet before Thorin slid down behind her. They huddled together as a group as a foreign horn call echoed through the land above them, sounds of horses and fighting following soon after. Within moments, the body of a dead orc bounced down at their feet.

Frowning, Thorin stepped forward and ripped the arrow that had slain it from its throat. Looking at its make, he threw it to the ground as if it had burned him, a single word being spat from his mouth, "Elves."

At that discovery, Poppy froze, her face paling. She knew where they were, or at least what they were near. She knew where Gandalf had led them. Yavanna help her, she knew.

As the other jostled about, Bombur retaking his things from the motionless hobbit, she stared at the discarded arrow on the ground. From the back of the cave—or whatever the outcrop was technically called—Dwalin called, "I cannot see where the pathway leads. Do we follow it or no?"

A roll of the eyes in his very tone, Bofur answered immediately, "Follow it, of course!" They all struck out forward, pressing themselves into a line to follow the unknown passage.

Relief and a bit of a smile in the wizard's voice, Gandalf quietly commented, "Yes, I believe that would be wise."

The old man paused and turned when Fili urged, "Poppy come on." Eyes still wide, the girl had not yet moved, her hands clutching her staff nervously. Frowning as he grabbed one of those hands to pull her forward, the dwarf asked more quietly, not caring if Thorin saw or had something to say about it, "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

Her head shook slowly. And quite suddenly Gandalf understood her hesitance. If word had gotten all the way to Radagast, if her name had traveled _that _far, then there was no possibility it had not reached the haven at the end of that passageway. The dwarves would not be pleased… The wizard tried to convey some sort of reassurance when her eyes found his, though he couldn't say that he did very well.

At the worry on his face as he wrapped his fingers about hers, Poppy turned to look at Fili. She whispered with a heavy, miserable sort of conviction, "You're all going to hate me…"

Falling silent again, she took an unhappy step forward without letting go of his hand. Confusion on his face, Fili followed in like quiet, intertwining their fingers with a squeeze to try and cheer her up. To his great displease, it didn't appear to work though she squeezed back. When he looked up at Gandalf who fell in behind him, the wizard only let out a small sigh and nodded toward her, as if to tell him to stay with her.

She would soon need it.

* * *

A/N: I made it! In an odd twist of fate that allowed me to actually not have a boatload of homework, I managed to get all this done and up. In about half an hour, I'm leaving for my conference, however, so that apology for a possible delay to perhaps Monday instead of Sunday might still apply.

So, as you can all see, we've almost reached Rivendell where some truly fun things will occur and we'll all learn some Elvish. It'll be a grand time. I do hope you enjoyed Radagast; he was rather fun to write. Thanks so much for your reviews. I love hearing you guys' thoughts. So I now bid you a good weekend and say thanks so much for reading, review if you wish, and I hope you enjoyed. :D


	30. Imladris, the Hidden Valley

The secret path wound down and about itself for quite a distance as the Company pushed forward, quite literally having to shove the rounder of their brethren to continue. The angle of the afternoon sunshine provided light that bounced down the walls of the crevice though was no longer directly overhead, a small blessing as they walked through the summer warmth. For someone with a dislike of tight, small spaces the trip would not have been a pleasant one, though none among them held such a fear.

At the back of the line, Poppy held onto a different fear along with Fili's hand as she vacantly let herself be led on. Her new friends had dealt with a number of her issues already and had proved steadfast companions of the highest caliber. However, something told her that they were ones to take to her problems, those of a hobbit, rather better than that hobbit's…acquaintances.

They would at first not believe her—she had to convince herself she hadn't imagined all those years herself sometimes—and then, once they accepted it as truth, they would hate her by association. Forgiveness for what she had no doubt they'd consider betrayal would come slowly, she had no doubt. Thorin, in particular, would see it as yet another reason to try and send her home.

The worst part was that a large part of her harbored actual excitement at the same time. She had heard of and longed to see this place for a long, long time. That she was finally there to see it caused a growing swell of emotion to settle into her chest, fighting for space with the worry. In a most unpleasant way, she felt as if her loyalty was being pulled in two different directions and her poor little heart was the one being truly stretched.

Glancing down at her hand as Fili gently squeezed it, pulling her along faster, a smile fought its way to the surface and held its ground once it prevailed. She was with Fili; she was happy when she was with Fili; what more was there to worry about? Within mere minutes he might see her as a traitor to his kin and never wish for her company on watch or anywhere else ever again, but for that small moment in time, he was holding her hand, his fingers fitting comfortably and snugly between hers. A small part of her, that aching part, began to foster the hope that he and Bifur of all of them might not hate her, that they might just stick by her.

That small hope and a growing anticipation of seeing their destination made her hurry her step slightly, coming up to walk beside her friend instead of being pulled along behind. Looking over at her as their shoulders brushed getting through the tight space and seeing her smile, one appeared on his face, too.

Her face brightening into a grin, she suddenly squeezed his hand and pulled him along to catch up to the others. Come what may, she would have hope.

As they jogged forward, their footfalls echoing off the stone all about them, the grey of Gandalf's robes suddenly no longer occupied the entire width of the passage. The pathway had ended and by the number of gasps that reached back to them, a grand view was to be beheld at the end. Though it wasn't a particularly comforting sound to her ears, she could also hear the distinct sound of running water.

Gandalf had just begun to speak when the pair emerged from the trail, Poppy immediately forgetting she had the ability to move as the sight before her took all breath from her. Though she had heard it spoken of many a time in longing voices, even the eloquent words she'd heard to describe the place before her were pale in comparison to reality. Even the words of her thoughts failed her as she looked to the elegant buildings in the afternoon light.

The wizard's words were faint as they reached her ears through her haze of awe, "The valley of Imladris. In the Common Tongue, it is known by another name."

From in front of them, Bilbo whispered, also clearly awestruck, "Rivendell."

"Here lies the last homely house east of the sea," Gandalf concluded.

Having continued walking toward his brother, not noticing that his companion had frozen, Fili felt a sharp tug as the length of their arms ran out. Looking back, a smile settled itself upon his face at the sight before him. Blue eyes wide and sparkling, Poppy stood there with an expression of utter wonder that a ten-year-old would sport more easily than one her age. As her slightly open mouth curved gently up into a smile, he wondered with a growing grin if that was how she'd looked when she first saw Gandalf's fireworks on her birthday.

Noticing that he had come back to her side, her eyes flickered over to his. Her smile blossomed into something truly exuberant then and she tightly squeezed his hand before looking again at the elven haven. In that moment, he couldn't care less if they were about to walk up and hug the elves as long as that smile remained on his hobbit's face.

A part of his brain objected to the possessive thought toward the end there, but his chest was far too busy burning with happiness and wanting her eyes to turn back to him to give the slightest care.

Just in front of them, his uncle whirled about and glared heavily at Gandalf. At the bite in his tone, Fili's moment of embarrassing daydreaming was brought to a swift end. Without letting go, he shifted how he stood, hiding his and Poppy's entwined hands from view—though apparently not well enough because Kili suddenly began smirking back at him. The elder brother only had a short second to glare before Thorin's accusing words distracted him.

"This was your plan all along, to seek refuge with our _enemy_."

Face darkening, the wizard replied back none too gently, "You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill will to be found in this valley is that which you bring _yourself_."

Their attentions having all been taken from their previous occupations, Fili, Bilbo, and Poppy all stood silently and awkwardly where they were, loath to bring notice to themselves. The woman in particular shifted slightly, attempting to hide behind her friend and cousin. Hope was all well and good, but hope would not lessen the temper of Thorin Oakenshield…not to mention the temper she imagined he'd have worked up by the time they made their way to the actual elven home. Noticing her fear, Fili squeezed her hand and began to slowly edge them forward, out of Thorin's line of sight.

"Do you think the elves will give our quest their blessing?" the dwarf king questioned incredulously. "They will try to stop us."

Gandalf's tone was that of a harried teacher being told what they had just taught, "Of course they will. But we have questions that need answering." From the way his temper fought for a second and then was replaced by logical sense, Thorin had not before thought of that, had not thought beyond his hatred. Not pressing that particular matter, the wizard continued, "If we are to be successful, this will need to be handled with tact and respect…and no small degree of charm. Which is why you will leave the talking to me."

With that, the old man's gaze turned forward, finding what he sought within seconds. Still beside the elder prince, though with her hand quite conveniently hidden from sight beneath his cloak, Poppy caught his gaze as the others all noticed the lull in words. Knowing that things were about to become quite confusing and awkward for the dwarves whether he said something then or not, he added, "If I could count on your help as well, little Anna, I would be most appreciative."

Eyes going wide as all turned to stare at her—except for Bilbo who seemed as if he suddenly understood, as if just remembered—she squeaked slightly before breathing out, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, my dear. You shall be of more help than you know, I daresay." Saying nothing more on the matter, ignoring the looks, a number of them dark, that went from him to the hobbit, he strode forward, "Let us not waste any more time. Follow me."

Though Fili had quite decidedly not let go of her hand, Poppy could feel the question in his eyes that he wouldn't ask. One thing she had loved about him ever since that first night was that he wasn't the type to ask. He waited for you to trust in him and in yourself enough to tell him. She didn't think she'd ever been more thankful for that quality than as they filed into a line and made their way down the narrow stone path over the valley and toward the beauty on the other side of the river.

As they were jostled apart and walking side by side no longer proved an option, an odd kind of emptiness came over her when their hands slipped apart. Bifur soon appeared behind her, a stalwart look in his eyes. Whatever was to come, it said, he would be with her.

With very little surprise, Poppy found Kili falling back to walk in front of her, pushing his brother and Bilbo both ahead. Lowering his voice, he queried, "So, what's Gandalf talking about?"

"You'll see." The archer pouted slightly at that, his eyes narrowing slightly as tried to think of a way to trick her into giving something away. He was still in that ponderous stage when he heard her whisper, "Kili, I'm glad you're my friend." Her smile was sad when he looked up at her, though her eyes soon diverted, finding their way again to the landscape.

The youngest dwarf fell silent as they arrived at a bridge that spanned the rushing Bruinen many meters below. Noticing the girls' eyes go down almost immediately, Bifur gently took her arm in his free hand.

With no shortage of wonder and caution but a notable lack of chatter, the Company of Thorin Oakenshield passed between the two elven statues that served as symbolic guards over the entrance of Rivendell. Their empty, undetailed eyes stared down at the visitors through their helmets, silently questioning their intentions toward the peaceful realm.

Trees and foliage on one side and the edge of the cliff overlooking the valley on the other, the sixteen of them came to stop in a stone courtyard. When no soul came to greet them at first, many wandered slightly, looking about them. Bilbo could only stay where he had stopped, unable to take in everything fast enough. Bifur close behind her, Poppy silently made her way to the edge of the cliff, tilting her head as she took in the sight of the valley in the ever-growing golden light of evening. Together they stood there until a new voice with an elegant accent she knew well carried lightly on the air.

"Mithrandir."

A tall elf of noble bearing and a clearly noble purpose appeared on the stairs they had not yet ascended, long, dark blue robes swaying about him. The circlet upon his head indicated that he was a person of some importance, though Poppy chose not to share that information with Bifur as he herded her back to the group. With the generally disdainful and displeased looks upon most of the dwarves' faces, she decided that was wise of her. Given there was a trace of irritation upon the elf's face at thirteen dwarves standing on the doorstep of Rivendell, she wondered just how unpleasantly their stay would go…

Smiling widely, Gandalf turned to their interim host, "Lindir!"

Descending the last few stairs, the elf brought his right hand to his heart in the respectful greeting of his race. The wizard stepped forward after returning the gesture. As Thorin and some of the others whispered lowly from the center, the elf continued in his own tongue. Though she was a bit rusty, Poppy understood his words, "_We heard you had crossed into the valley._"

Giving a short nod, Gandalf's tone became urgent, "I must speak with Lord Elrond."

Reverting back to a language all present could understand, he shook his head, "My lord, Elrond, is not here."

"Not here? Where is he?"

The wizard was answered with the reverberating call of a horn, one identical to what they had heard only hours earlier. Smiling slightly at the close-lipped elf, Gandalf did not need to turn back to know where Elrond was, though he soon did anyway. The loud clack of many hooves upon stone followed the call and soon the bridge was filled with tall graceful creatures ridden by tall and equally graceful beings.

As the hunting party thundered toward the courtyard, the warrior within Thorin stood straight up from where it had been doing anything but sleeping just below the surface. Yelling it first in Khuzdul and then again, he ordered, "Close ranks!"

With a small noise of surprise, Bilbo felt himself be pulled protectively into the center by Bofur. Ori and Poppy were close to him, also being pushed to the middle by their various protectors. Weapons all out and in hand, the small company formed a defensive turtle-like formation as the horses twice their height cantered about them in a never-ending stream.

While the hobbit had never known reason to fear the elves, Bilbo watched with growing unease as his friends' forms tensed. Looking to Poppy as he always did in times of uncertainty, he found her as calm as ever. Her staff had been tied back onto her back and she looked in no hurry to take out her weapon. In fact, she was merely holding Ori's arm as if he were escorting her to dinner. Smiling wanly, she found her cousin's gaze.

Upon further scrutiny, he chose to question the placidity on her face. That was the face she used when she was trying to calm him down, to keep him from worrying about whatever it was she was feeling. No, she was scared, just not of the elves. Placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, he stood his ground behind her as the wheeling and turn mass of horse about them came to a fluid stop.

"Gandalf!"

Easily and spritely dismounting, a tall elf of indistinguishable age but clearly extraordinary wisdom approached Gandalf with a smile. Returning the expression, the wizard greeted with a bow and a touch of his hand to his heart, "Lord Elrond. _Mellonin_."

As the dwarves stuck to their weapons, many a scathing glare being sent to a taller warrior upon one horse or another, the wizard added in words only Poppy of their company could understand completely, "_Where have you been_?"

"_We've been hunting a pack of Orcs that came up from the South. We slew a number near the Hidden Pass."_ Approaching the wizard, the elf lord pulled him into a friendly hug. Proffering an orcish blade after pulling back, he continued in a tongue that all there could understand, "Strange for Orcs to come so close to our borders. Something, or someone, must have drawn them near."

Coming to stand before his chamberlain, the dark-haired elf turned to take in his visitors. His eyes gazed quickly over them, though stopped on Thorin before they could make it to Poppy. From his side, Gandalf offered, "Ah, that may have been us."

At the other leader's gaze upon him, Thorin stepped forward without a word though a challenge clear in his stance. Turning and inclining his head to the dwarf king, Elrond greeted with an audible element of respect, "Hail Thorin, son of Thrain."

That respect was not yet returned when the dwarf replied, "I do not believe we have met."

"You have your grandfather's bearing," the elf explained. "I knew Thror when he ruled under the mountain."

"Indeed. He made no mention of you."

If the elf lord chose to take offense at Thorin's tone, he also chose not to show it. Not taking his eyes from the unseated king, he continued on in words of his own tongue. Bilbo found himself jostled again as the dwarves about him reacted to the words they did not understand, weapons beings taken readily into hand again should insult have been provided. He glanced over to see Poppy reach out her free hand to stay Bifur's glaive and then push down Kili's bow, a growing smile upon her face.

Voice not above a growl, Gloin demanded, "What does he say? Does he offer us insult?!"

The one to answer them was not the one they expected as Gandalf's mouth opened but his baritone did not come out. Instead it was Poppy's quiet voice that rose above the hubbub as it had the uncanny ability to do. "No, Gloin, he's offering you food."

Whirling about, Thorin's gaze quickly came to rest upon her, his irritation with the previous encounter clearly not having subsided in the slightest when he bit out accusingly, "And how do _you_ know of what he speaks, girl?"

Even though he already knew the answer to that, Bilbo could have made out the reason by the change in Lord Elrond's features. His sharp elven eyes turning toward her, his face softened visibly after a wave of recognition passed over it, an element of almost paternal affection appearing. Respect was clear in his voice when he replied, "Because she knows the tongue of my people well, Thorin son of Thrain. She has had many teachers over the years. _Suilad_."

"_Suilad_," she returned his greeting, her tongue taking to the Elvish word with an air of previous knowledge.

Smiling to the blushing hobbit girl, he inclined his head and brought his hand to his heart as she mirrored his actions. For the first time in his life, Bilbo saw his cousin actually _curtsey_!

Upon meeting her eyes again, the elf continued with an amused glance to the wizard beside him, "Your company has been missed these last two years, though we rejoiced for you. I must say I did not ever expect the pleasure of meeting you."

"Nor did I, my lord Elrond," she replied with an oddly elegant accent creeping into her voice, even as she felt all eyes upon her, though shock came from the shorter beings and a small bit of awe from the taller. The latter reaction had always confused her, never understanding why insignificant little her would be cause for anything of the sort from the graceful beings about her.

She was beginning to feel the tension from all about her when the elf held out a hand. Releasing Ori's arm, she looked to her left and Fili with a pleading smile, silently asking him to just trust her. A blank, shocked look upon his face that the others all mirrored in varying states of anger looked back at her. Just glancing about she could see the beginnings of betrayal upon the faces of those she called friends, as she had suspected. Stepping forward, she took the hand Elrond had proffered to her.

Tucking her much smaller hand into his elbow, the elf turned to his guests once again. "Thorin Oakenshield, Meduianna," he nodded to the dwarf and then hobbit on his arm in turn at their names before continuing, "if you and your companions will please follow me, you shall be provided lodging and food for as long as you wish."

Without another word, he proceeded to ascend the stairs with Gandalf on one side and Poppy still on his arm. Thirteen dumbfounded dwarves and one again awestruck hobbit took a moment to follow them. Only with Thorin's first steps did the others begin to follow, their stupor being brought to an end. Shoving his way to the center toward Ori, Fili demanded in a whisper, "What did he call her? Ori, what does that word '_Meduianna'_ mean?"

His mouth fumbled over the foreign word, though he recognized Gandalf's name for her within it. Why would the elves have any knowledge of her nickname of Anna? Could she have gotten it from them? Was this what she'd been talking about, them hating her?

The scholar could only shrug, unsure of those particular roots in the language he had studied very little of. From beside them, however, Bilbo replied quietly, "It means 'Last Gift'. They're calling her their Last Gift."

"Why?" the blonde dwarf asked frantically, as if grasping for a reason, _any_ reason, for why his Poppy should be friends with elves.

Her cousin could only shrug as they followed their graceful hosts and Poppy into the haven of the Hidden Valley.

* * *

A/N: So, yes I fail at life. Stupid schoolwork having to rain on my lovely writing parade. However, here we are. If I am fortunate, I might be able to get another chapter up tomorrow (well, later today rather) to make up for my lateness.

So...we're in Rivendell and I've explained almost nothing! However, I promise I will get around to that. If it makes no sense, that's okay because it's not supposed to! :) At least, not yet. Hang in there with me. Why Poppy knows elves and they know of her and how the dwarves will deal with her apparently having some sort of relationship with their sworn enemies will come out. Anywho, enough of my rambling. Thanks so much for reading, review if you wish, and I hope you enjoyed. :)


	31. Dinner

"This shall be yours whilst your stay endures."

"Lindir will return when dinner has been readied."

The two tall, dark-haired and grey-eyed elves of seemingly identical appearance turned to go from where they had conducted the Company and Gandalf. Twelve dwarves, Bilbo, and the wizard looked after them with varying degrees of irritation. Bifur had refused to be parted from Poppy and had silently followed after her and the elven lord when he led her on and the twins had led them away. No one of any height had found it wise to argue with the warrior.

Gandalf gently inclined his head, "Our thanks, Elladan, Elrohir."

As the two elves retreated, their armor from the hunting trip oddly silent as they walked, the company looked about their temporary abode. Though no audible orders had been given by the lord of the house, the brothers had known to bring the visitors to the guest house near the wall of the valley. Its walls curved and pocketed with windows the structure felt altogether too flimsy for most of them given they were used to a mountain about them. However, the stone of the valley soared up past the back wall of the home in its effort to reach the clouds. What sounded like the forge was not far away.

Thorin did not allow himself to entertain the idea that that particular spot had been chosen to make the dwarves more comfortable. The king did not allow himself to entertain the idea of comfort at all. Every hair upon his body felt as if it were standing on end, his nerves in a place fast beyond tense. Gandalf expected him to sleep under the roof of his enemies, the people who had forsaken his people to the damnable dragon and then to the harsh conditions of the lives of wanderers! No, he was not in his most charitable frame of mind.

And then that damned hobbit! Had he had the faintest inkling of the emotional exhaustion she would put him through when she started walking that first day in the Shire, he would have picked her up, ridden back to Bag End, and thrown her into the foyer. Not only did she have the irritating habit of taking on wild animals thrice her size and then proving herself inexhaustibly loyal to their companions, now she _knew elves_!

His hatred beginning to take him to dark places, the king began to wonder just why she had come on the quest. Was it really for the sake of her cousin or was it for the sake of her apparent _friends_ in the main hall?

The blackness of his mood didn't allow the thought that his idea was incredibly illogical to penetrate his brain.

As the others cautiously explored the house, it being respectably large and airy, and began to put down their things, he and Dwalin stayed firmly in the entrance, reluctant to remove their weapons.

Removing his hat, Gandalf could feel the tension about him as he came upon a water-filled basin and commenced washing his face. At the lack of even idle chatter amongst the dwarves, he began to dread the upcoming meal. For one, he doubted the dwarves would find the cuisine entirely adequate given their two necessary staples of ale and meat would not be upon the menu. For another, Lord Elrond had certainly, though unintentionally, not allowed Anna to explain herself beforehand. Though explanations might be slow in coming anyway, given the almost venomous look that had taken residence upon Thorin's face.

Might little Anna be saved from the stubborn prejudices of dwarves…

"Bilbo."

With a jolt of surprise, the hobbit suddenly found himself captured from where he had been quietly minding his own business on a bench outside the dwelling the Company had been given. Two arms, one from either side, had been wrapped heavily and sturdily about his shoulders, rendering him quite incapable of moving.

"Buddy."

Eyes flitting from one brother to the other, he replied warily, "Yes…?"

Rising and coming to stand before their burglar, leaving Kili to keep him in place, Fili folded his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow, "Spill it, Baggins."

"Spill what?" Bilbo was genuinely unsure if he should be worried. The two brothers had played many a prank upon him in jest with straight faces, though he could not tell if that was now the case. He held no real fear of them, though with Poppy not there to protect him as she was so good at doing, he was wary of where this was going…

"Everything," Kili answered. Gesturing about him, he continued animatedly, distaste creeping into his voice whenever he mentioned their hosts, "Why does she know _Elvish_? Why in the name of Mahal do they have a special name for her? Why do _they_ know her? Why does she know _them_?!"

"She doesn't know them. Not _personally_," the hobbit muttered with a sigh. Frowning suddenly, his eyes found Fili's, "_You_ should know. Didn't she tell you about where she was before she lived with me?"

Confused hazel eyes frowned back at him, something in them almost pleading when Fili answered quietly, "Well, yes, but what does that have to do with _elves_?"

Part of him beginning to become genuinely irritated with how they all spat out the word 'elves' every time they said it, Bilbo shook his head. Were they really going to be angry with her purely by an association that they didn't even understand? He'd thought better of them, especially of these two. They had latched onto his cousin without a single look back. When did Bifur become the only dwarf in the Company of Thorin Oakenshield who understood true loyalty?

Before he could speak, a regal voice floated upon the air to them. Lindir had returned to summon them to their meal. "If you will please follow me."

Anger lacing his tone, Bilbo successfully pushed Kili off and got up. "Why would it _matter_ if she's their secret ruddy queen? She's still Poppy and you're supposed to be her friends. Act like it and trust her."

The hobbit padded quietly across the walk to stand beside Gandalf. The two exchanged a glance that clearly expressed irritation at the stubbornness of dwarves as said beings gathered, all keeping a main weapon in hand.

That stubbornness was still clear on many a bearded face as Lindir led the group toward the main hall where music, their host, their dinner, and their other hobbit already waited.

* * *

Poppy sat uncomfortably at the head of the table, waiting for the others to be summoned. For the last hour, Lord Elrond had shown her his home and spoken with her about the last two years of her life. Though to him it must have seemed an incredibly short span of time, he had taken a genuine interest in them. Quite deftly, he had helped them both by avoiding asking about her arrival and the circumstances of it.

In the odd way she always did, she fell back into her slow Elvish with little problem. Though in a highly different setting, it was oddly comforting to be in the company of elves once again.

Elrond's kin and race had served as her adopted family for many years after she had run away from home. No part of her doubted that their kindness and presence, their choice to love her and make her into their Meduianna, had saved her life. Their fleeting though constant presence had saved her from herself as she hid from the world and everything in it including herself in the Old Forest.

It was all quite simple really, just appeared incredibly complicated upon the surface. If Thorin and the others could give her the opportunity to explain that night, she hoped they could forgive her. However, if they couldn't, she would not forsake those who had freely chosen to care for her. Perhaps it was asking too much, but she hoped she could get a group of dwarves to push past their deep-seeded hatred because they cared for her more.

These many thoughts spun through her head as she and Bifur sat, waiting for the others to arrive, their host having excused himself shortly. Smiling slightly, the dwarf reached over and squeezed her shoulder. He didn't care what had happened. He didn't care why all the elves they had passed looked at Poppy with a fleeting smile and a respectful bow of the head. She trusted them and that was enough for this old warrior. Though he was still wary of the tall beings that towered over them, Elrond had made no move to make him leave when he had followed them uninvited. The elf lord had even spoken with him at some short length in Khuzdul, explaining that he knew Ancient Dwarvish well enough to have some rough conversation.

In what was far above rough conversation, they had discussed the circumstances surrounding their mutual acquaintance. Though he hadn't needed the extra knowledge, it all made perfect sense to Bifur then. They had become what she needed and she had become their last gift this side of the sea. He could and would not begrudge his Poppy that.

Understanding his friend well enough to know what was running through that brunette head of hers, he smiled a little wider. She had him on her side, come what may.

She had returned the expression just in time to see Lindir stride through Elrond's library and onto the terrace where they waited. As the dwarves followed his gentle directives, most refused to look her way after noticing where she sat. Frowns settled heavily upon their brows, even with the promise of food before them. Discouraged at the first few snubs, she sighed and turned her gaze toward the open valley to her left, finding Bifur's sleeve beneath the table.

She turned too early to have seen the two faces at the end of the line that sought for hers, wishing only to give her encouraging smiles as Bilbo's words had truly sunk in. Giving one another a glance, the two brothers shrugged slightly before taking their seats.

Only making matters worse for Poppy, she soon found Thorin sitting across the table from her, the most intense frown she'd ever seen him don staring at her over their goblets. She could feel her very toes begin to tingle with unease as he turned it fully upon her as the music of flutes, harps, and lutes began. Quite suddenly, she found her salad very interesting as she worked harder at listening, hoping Thorin would remain in stony silence.

Unable to ignore the slight humor in her situation, Bifur couldn't help the almost imperceptible smirk that appeared. He caught similar ones upon Gandalf and Elrond's faces as well. Both older beings easily discerning the tension accompanying them at their table, wizard and elf both chose to steer conversation away from her.

Poppy saw none of it as she stared at her food, absently poking at it unhappily. Only just keeping herself from sighing heavily and resting her chin in her palm like a cranky tween, she forced herself to at least _appear_ happy. If nothing else, she had become incredibly good at feigning an air of happiness. As Gandalf and Elrond's talk veered toward such things as defenses and poetry, she allowed their voices to drop to the back of her mind, her ears instead looking for the ones she'd been in the constant company of…one in particular that stood out quite well by then.

"Try it. Just a mouthful," she heard Dori urge, his motherly tone on full display.

Ori shook his head, "I don't like green food."

"Where's the meat?" Dwalin demanded in a low voice, clearly not understanding how one could be served a meal without it.

"Do you suppose they have any chips?" Poppy had to physically hold back her snort of laughter at the scholar's innocent question. Moments later she had the same problem as Oin shoved his napkin into his ear trumpet to block out the sound of the flautist's music.

Feeling oddly lighter at the idea that while they were different toward her, her friends really hadn't changed that much, she brought her attention back to the conversation at hand. Elrond was examining Thorin's newfound blade. "This is Orcrist, the Goblin Cleaver. It is a famous blade forged by the high elves of the West, my kin. May it serve you well."

In his first show of real respect that day, the dwarf bowed his head slightly upon being handed it back.

"And this," Elrond continued, "is Glamdring, the Foe Hammer, sword of the king of Gondolin."

From the other table, where most were subtly listening to the high table's conversation, Poppy heard Balin say consolingly to her cousin, "I wouldn't bother, laddie. Swords are named for the great deeds they do in war."

"Are you saying my sword hasn't seen battle?"

With a shrug, the older dwarf concluded, "I'm not actually sure it is a sword. More of a letter opener really." Poppy had to take a deep drink of her wine to stop the hiccup of laughter that threatened to escape at that. From beside her, a smile appeared on Bifur's face, too.

"How did you come by these?" the elf lord beside her asked, again drawing her attention back.

Even before Gandalf spoke, she could feel Thorin's glare descend upon her again. She resolutely avoided looking at him. "We found them in a troll hoard on the Great East Road shortly before we were ambushed by orcs."

Voice and eyes pensive, Elrond queried, "And what were you doing on the Great East Road?"

Thankfully, Thorin's gaze was diverted from attempting to make her spontaneously combust at that. The pause that followed was too long for Elrond not to have noticed. Speaking for the first time since dinner had begun, Poppy replied, "I believe Gandalf and Master Oakenshield will explain that to you after dinner. If I might ask, how is your daughter? I was told many stories of the Evenstar over the years, though I doubted I would ever meet her or your sons."

Smiling slightly, the elf took her attempt at a subject change with no objection, "Although, the last has been remedied, as I understand it. Arwen is well and currently returning from visiting our kin in Lothlórien. She should return within a few days. She would be very pleased to meet you."

"And why is that exactly?" Thorin's harsh tone felt out of place amongst the soft sounds of the dinner and succeeded in drawing the attention of all.

As she fell silent, flushing a bright salmon, Elrond explained with more chill than he had displayed before, "Almost twenty years ago on their way to the sea, on their way to leave this land forever, some of my kin came upon a solitary hobbit amongst the trees of the Old Forest. Though she refused to speak at the time, she did her best to provide them with shelter, hospitality, and genuine care during their night of rest there. I do not expect nor intend for you to understand, Thorin Oakenshield, King Under the Mountain, but from this last haven to the sea is a long and weary road for my kin. We relish what lays before us as the sea calls us home, but it never leaves our souls that we are leaving all that we have known as home forever, never to return. That journey is our world's longest funeral march in many a sense. Your companion here, our Meduianna, is the last mortal soul my kin meet before they set foot upon the ships for Valinior. She is the last memory my kin make upon these shores. And thus for the next eighteen years of this world, she stayed and remained our last gift in Middle Earth."

A heavy silence fell over the terrace as the elf and dwarf gazed tensely at one another and every other being stared at Poppy. Finally after a long moment, the lord of the house took his fork back in his hand and commented before beginning to eat, "I believe she will explain more after dinner should you kindly ask, Master Dwarf."

* * *

A/N: Hello there! So it's not terribly much, but here's the second bit for today. :) I'm rather enjoying Rivendell; I think we'll all stay for a couple days instead of just a single night. (I can haz plans...:D) Thanks for all your wonderful reviews (I shall answer them all tomorrow)! I really need to get to bed given I have a meeting at 7-freaking-a.m. tomorrow, but I wanted to get this bit up as promised. So, thanks so much for reading, review if the desire takes you, and I hope you enjoy. :)


	32. Angry Thorin

As night fell and dinner ended, Poppy retreated awkwardly into the hall as quickly as she could, Bifur following closely behind. Before anyone could get her attention, she had hidden herself in the upper reaches of Elrond's library, attempting to gather her many thoughts.

If she continued to hide, then the others wouldn't have the chance to actually reject her, to push her from them.

Poppy had never considered herself a brave person. No, she was just too thoughtless to not put herself in danger for the sake of others. She didn't consider that bravery. Never before in her life had she felt less brave than as she lay on the floor of one of the library's upper balconies in silence, Bifur sitting beside her leaning against the wall.

Darkness fell fully as the minutes drug on into hours and she continued to hide in her friend's silent company. The dwarf did not rush her, though he expected his kin to do better than she was imagining. Thus far they had done little to inspire her confidence, though with Thorin as the main model, he couldn't say that surprised him. His king was a fine man and a great leader. He just wasn't so good with the playing nice with people not of our race aspect of ruling…yet. Despite that, Bifur got the feeling once again that her fear of rejection had more to do with her history than entirely with them.

Only time and a likely incredibly tense talk that evening would tell.

Rousing them both from their thoughts—hers revolving mostly about a blonde dwarf she desperately wanted to talk to—they heard first echoing footsteps and then voices enter the dais below them. By the sounds of it, Thorin's mood had not improved.

"Our business is no concern of _elves_."

Sounding just as exasperated as he had when she was young and never ran out of questions, Gandalf exclaimed, "For goodness' sake, Thorin show him the map."

"It is the legacy of my people. It is mine to protect." Exchanging a glance, she and Bifur realized the group below them was speaking of Thorin's map. She hoped Lord Elrond could aid them in the dwarves' quest should he be allowed to look at it. "As are its secrets."

Well, that happening appeared questionable.

"Save me from the stubbornness of dwarves!" Irritation in his tone, the wizard continued, "Your pride will be your downfall. You stand in the presence of one of the few in Middle Earth who can read that map. Show it to Lord Elrond!"

The hidden listeners exchanged another glance at that, silently admiring the wizard's lack of fear. Not just anyone spoke that way to Thorin Oakenshield. It appeared to have worked, however, as after a long moment the implacable dwarf stepped forward, silently pulling his most valued treasure from his breast pocket and holding it out to the leader of the race of people that he despised.

Part of Thorin could not believe what he was doing and yelled at himself to stop that instant. But, even as Balin exclaimed with surprise, "Thorin, no," he continued. The map needed to be read and to his great chagrin he could not accomplish that himself. Though it did little to warm him to the elf, both Gandalf and Poppy vouched for Elrond's character. The latter did especially little to improve his mood. They were going to _talk_ later. No matter all that, sacrifices would have to be made if their home was to be retaken.

Without a word, Elrond gracefully took the map with a gentle hand, clearly understanding how precious a possession he had been given. Unfolding the old parchment, he examined it in the bright light of the moon that shone in from behind him. With no small bit of surprise, he declared, "Erebor? What is your interest in this map?"

Gandalf hurriedly answered, diverting the elf's gaze before Thorin could say something himself, "It is mainly academic. As you know this kind of artifact often contains hidden text." As Elrond turned away from them, the wizard and dwarf exchanged glances. There was no need to reveal their true purpose. "You do still read Ancient Dwarvish, do you not?"

"_Cirth ithil."_

Above them, Poppy mouthed the translation to Bifur just as Gandalf spoke it, "Moon runes! Of course." Glancing back at Thorin, Balin, and Bilbo, he added, "An easy thing to miss."

Still looking inquisitively at the map, Elrond nodded, "In this case, that is true. Moon runes can only be read by the light of a moon of the same shape and season as the day on which they were written."

"Can you read them?" Thorin queried as the elf turned to face them once again.

"No," Elrond replied, holding out the map for its rightful owner, "not today." A small smile appeared on his face as the ones before him brightened considerably as he further explained, "If I understand the clues on your map correctly, those runes were written under a crescent moon on Midsummer's Eve nearly two hundred years ago."

"Midsummer's Eve is in three days," Bilbo offered excitedly.

Inclining his head and gesturing toward the open doorway to his left, Elrond nodded, his smile enduring, "Yes and the moon will again be a crescent upon that night. It would seem you were meant to come to Rivendell. Fate is with you, Thorin Oakenshield."

Swallowing whatever pride stood in his way along with the urge to not believe the elf, Thorin asked with a humbleness unusual for him, "May we count upon your hospitality until that time, Lord Elrond?"

"With utmost certainty, Master Oakenshield." Bowing his head, the elf commented as he stepped toward his terrace, "It will be pleasant to have Meduianna as our guest. I have often wished I could speak to her…" His voice trailed off temporarily as his gaze turned to the west and the sea. Bilbo got the distinct impression someone he loved had gone over that water without him. "I wish you all a good night."

The two dwarves and Bilbo turned to go without much delay, clearly understanding they were being gently dismissed, though Gandalf lingered. As their conversation in Elvish turned to runes and other scholarly things, Poppy sighed from where she lay. Looking over to Bifur she whispered, "I should go to them now, shouldn't I."

The dwarf nodded once. She sighed again, "He's going to yell, isn't he."

Reaching out a finger and raising up her lowered chin, he waited for her blues eyes to find his before giving her a reassuring wink. She could do this and they both knew it. A determined smile appeared on her face before she gave a nod.

"Let's just hope the wine has put at least Dwalin in a mellow frame of mind." As he pulled her to her feet, the dwarf huffed with laughter.

* * *

"How did it go?"

Dwalin's question appeared nonchalant on the surface, but the unease and anticipation had been palpable as soon as Thorin, Balin, and Bilbo had returned to the dwarves' guest house.

Sitting down beside the warrior about the makeshift fire they had created, Thorin explained, "Lord Elrond has agreed to translate our map. He will read the moon runes it hides in three days on Midsummer's Eve." A smile that contained an inkling of shining hope appeared on his face as he looked about the circle to his companions.

"Do you believe him?" Dwalin queried harshly, his mind not yet ready to let go of his suspicion.

Thorin nodded gravely, "I do. He has offered to let us stay here until that time. So, settle in." Though it seemed to pain him slightly, the dwarf admitted, "I believe him to be sincere about this. Elrond, at least, will help us."

"Well," Bofur commented brightly where he was holding a sausage over the flames, "that's one problem solved."

"And there's another to be dealt with," Gloin commented darkly upon looking to the doorway.

Hands fiddling with her shirt sleeves, Poppy stood with the firelight on her face and the moonlight shining from behind her, causing red and pale blonde to fight for dominance as her braid shone. Her pack on her back, she let out a deep breath before stepping hesitantly forward and putting it along the wall with Bilbo's. Her staff was not with her, though Bifur at her side provided a far sturdier companion than it would have. Crossing her arms across her stomach, as if attempting to physically hold herself together, she once again turned to face the group. Face scared but her eyes determined, she found Thorin's gaze.

Any remnants of a brightening mood had abruptly vanished upon the dwarf king spotting her. Not only was his hatred rising up again, but part of his brain said that this might be when he finally convinced her to just leave. Rising in one swift, fluid motion, he was standing before her, uncomfortably attempting to intimidate her by invading her personal space. Raising a single finger and stabbing it in her direction, he growled with a dangerously low voice, "_You_! Get out!"

"Yes, I know you're angry, but let me explain," she implored softly, holding her hands up and taking a subtle step back as he began to shake with what she could only imagine was rage. "I-I know you all hate me right now, but just let me tell the story."

Thorin was about to go on and say something, scream something in her face, likely whatever words just managed to tumble out as his mind began to cloud over with wrath at the hobbit who had not only lied but had almost gotten them killed by orcs, but he was abruptly cut off before he could begin.

Not wishing for the situation to worsen, Balin prompted gently, "Go ahead, lass. We won't stop you." He gently tugged on Thorin's sleeve to pull him back, but the dwarf resisted.

"Oh yes, we will," Thorin growled. "I don't give a damn about your story, girl; I want answers. For once in your miserable little life tell the truth."

Her pleading face paled as she forced herself to continue to look into his livid one. Her mother had always taught her never to let someone impugn her honor without a fight the person didn't realize they were having. Belinda Gamgee had been a far more adept woman than her daughter believed herself, but she would do her best.

Even as multiple dwarves stood and made to protest their king's demeanor, her quiet but firm words came before theirs, "I have never lied to you, Thorin Oakenshield. I did not tell you of my friendship with the elves because you did not ask."

Not in the least bit perturbed, he shot back, "Well, then I'm asking now. Why were you living like a mad hermit in a forest for eighteen years? Why do these elves have a name for you as if you're a pet dog?"

Tears coming to her eyes though refusing to fall, she answered with a calmness that pained her, "To the first, because sitting at home with a broken father who refused to acknowledge I had ever existed was not conducive to curling up in a ball and dying. To the second, I am _not_ their pet dog. They as a race adopted me and loved me because they found a sad, lonely child who needed someone to care. They took this girl who no longer cared if she dropped dead the next day and reminded her that she was worth something, that she had a purpose, that she had people to take care of… For all that you hate them, that is more than you can say for yourself."

Her last comment barbed him more than she expected and she could see the fire ignite angrily in his eyes. "I wanted you to stay home where it was safe, girl!" he barked, advancing upon her once again. Never before had Poppy felt so very short. Trolls, wargs, and orcs she could handle. Elves she was used to. But in that moment she felt smaller and more inadequate than ever before.

Continuing to loom he added, "So your father didn't love you anymore, your life was hard, and you were _weak_ enough to want to end it-"

"I WAS A CHILD," she screeched louder than any of them had ever heard her, physically pushing against his solid chest Her actions did nothing but surprise him into silence along with everyone else.

Backing up until her back was pressed against Bifur, she sobbed, "I was a child who had just watched her mother die in her arms. I was sad and defeated and confused because everything that my life had been was suddenly different and wrong and terrible. Imagine if your home had been taken when you were fifteen instead of fully grown, imagine if your grandfather had lost his mind when your bedtime was as soon as the dishes were done."

For a moment the dwarf paused. Flashbacks to the argument he had waged with Bilbo over her began to play in his mind. He had regretted the words he said then and the part of himself he buried had the feeling he would regret all he said now, too. Another part of him said that it was better she have hurt feelings than die between here and Erebor.

"I can imagine all I want girl, but that doesn't change the past and doesn't explain why you tried to get us all killed!"

As she brought her still crying eyes up from the floor, he saw the pure confusion in them. That part of him that felt sorry for her, understood some of the pain she felt, was quickly buried by anger. She had _no idea_?! She'd almost killed them all!

Despite the dangerous look in Bifur's eyes, he pressed on, shouting so that his every word echoed off the walls, "Yes, girl, Explain to me why you knew that we had an _orc pack_ on our tail and failed to mention it!"

From where she stood, her head immediately hung down, obviously ashamed when she whispered, "I'm sorry."

"You'd better have more to say than just sorry, girl."

Bifur's gaze was continuing to darken the further Thorin pushed, the more deflated she became at his words. Their king was going too far, no matter his intentions, whatever they might be. The orcs had not been her fault and no one had been hurt. Though he doubted Poppy could see it through her tears, the others were beginning to take on similar looks of discontent.

Oin's eyes were pained and he seemed to be holding himself back from saying something. Dori, Ori, and Nori kept looking at one another, as if trying to decide if they should speak up. Fili and Kili were positively bouncing where they stood, torn between defending her and supporting their uncle.

Poppy could see none of it as she cried and stared at her big, dirty feet. "I found their trail the day of the river. I wanted to tell you; I did! But after the water I couldn't remember my own name let alone that we were in danger. When I did I told Gandalf and he said we should find out more. I don't know enough to be able to tell how many there were. We hoped there would only be a few. We were going to learn more but then there were the trolls and…" She trailed off into silence, clearly blaming herself as much as he did.

Thorin's tone was equal parts incredulity and anger, "And you thought that a good idea to tell us nothing, you thoughtless-"

"Stop it, Uncle Thorin."

A stubborn, steadfast expression on his face, Fili stepped decisively between his uncle and his friend. Although he was wondering if this wasn't the stupidest thing he'd ever done, he held his ground as his uncle's eyes found his and the glare that threatened to set people aflame began boring into him.

As the two dwarves of Durin locked stares and the tension level abruptly went from unpleasant to suffocating, Poppy's heart managed to soar and drop into her toes at the same time. Fili wasn't angry at her. He hadn't turned her away and she didn't have to curl herself into a ball and sob until nothing of her remained. At least one of them besides Bifur had not given up on her. At the same time, Fili had chosen her over his uncle and the last thing she wanted was to be a wedge that came between them.

"Get out, girl," Thorin growled, turning his cold eyes back to her and pointing outside. "Go and take advantage of your friends' hospitality. You're not a part of this Company. No contract was signed, so I do not have to deal with you tonight. I don't want you."

Fili's mouth opened abruptly, ready to protest that she was just as much one of the Company as he was, that _he_ wanted her no matter what was said, but Poppy was faster.

Scurrying forward, she reached both hands up and covered the younger's dwarf's mouth, silencing whatever words in her defense that were about to get out. Though tears had begun to stream down her cheeks again, she smiled and whispered, "It's fine. I'll go. I'll wait."

Slowly drawing her hands away, she looked back at Thorin once before running through the doorway and into the moonlight. Fili watched her go, the braid he'd given her shining behind her. It took him all of two seconds after she disappeared from sight to glance to Kili, receive a nod, and then sprint after her.

The house was deathly quiet except for the crackle of the fire for a few long minutes. From where he had remained silent until that point, knowing that the dwarves needed to come to her rescue and not him, Bilbo commented, "Well, that could have gone better. You know, given that Poppy helped keep Bombur, Ori, and Kili from getting hurt running from those orcs and that you completely just made an ass of yourself."

Thorin leveled a heavy glare at him that the hobbit ignored. However, even as he had to restrain himself from throwing his axe at the burglar, that place that Thorin hid his feelings in immediately began to regret every word that had escaped his mouth. The anger and betrayal he'd felt at her and Fili evaporated.

As he sat down beside Dwalin and Balin, he let out a tired groan. He really should have thrown her back into the foyer to start with…

* * *

A/N: Hello there! So here we are, more fighting and more time for this author to miss killing people. Writing fights like this just make me tired. Anyway, Thorin exhibited some of his not so great qualities. In the book he gets a bit, well, douchey at times, so I figured I could do it, too. He's got good intentions deep down. We're going to be in Rivendell a grand total of three more days, so I get to have some creative fun. :) The moon runes, White Council, and other goodies will show up, too.

Thanks so much for your wonderful reviews! You all have great thoughts. So, until Saturday, thanks for reading, review if you could, and I hope you enjoyed. :D


	33. Some Other Night

Boots thudding and various buckles jingling, Fili ran along the otherwise quiet and still maze of paths of Rivendell in the moonlight. Had he not known better, he would've thought that elves went to bed with the sun with how deserted everything was. Though the company of elves was not exactly his favored social event, he would have done anything to have one around. One of them was bound to have seen where Poppy had gone.

He had taken just a few seconds too long. By the time he had exchanged looks with Kili, both of them silently agreeing upon what needed to be done, she had vanished. Big her feet might be, but they were disturbingly silent. Though it pained him, he even wished that she would cry or something. He'd become oddly attuned to the sound, not unlike she had become able to wake up at the mere sound of his voice.

However, nothing but the gentle rustling of the leaves in the wind and the falling of water greeted his ears. The thudding of his own boots on the ground was the loudest sound about. As the moon rose higher, he was forced to merely wander, hoping to happen upon the girl he was desperately searching for.

Finally, after cursing the confusing nature of Elvish dwellings, he skidded to a stop. Upon a small bridge that spanned a lazily flowing stream that split the center of a heavily wooded garden that had to be the furthest back from any of the buildings lay the hobbit.

Though for the beings who had made and who used the structure, it was nothing more than a footbridge. For her it was as wide as she was tall, her feet hanging off one edge where she laid on her stomach, the braid he'd given her skimming the water's surface and her cheek resting on her arm as she gazed down into the dark water.

Even with as loud as he was and as silent as the rest of the garden proved, she didn't appear to have noticed his arrival. For a short second, he wondered if she was purposely ignoring him. At the tears rolling down her nose and dropping into the water below, making tiny sad ripples, he immediately discarded that thought. It was a ridiculous notion; Poppy would not do that.

Stepping hesitantly forward, he simply said her name. "Anna…"

At his voice those blue eyes glanced up and found his. For a long, long moment they just stared at one another until suddenly a tearful smile spread timidly across her face, as if not _quite_ trusting to hope though desperately wanting to. It wasn't until he smiled back, that tug in his chest starting to pull him toward her, urging him closer, that the expression settled on her face. Slowly she reached up and wiped away the liquid from her eyes with the back of her hand.

Successfully making it so she could again see clearly, she looked up at him and said softly, "You shouldn't have done that back there. You shouldn't have come after me. I'm not worth it." Even as she said it, gently reprimanded him for it, Fili could hear the happiness in her voice that he had.

Striding more confidently forward and sitting down beside her, his knee brushing her thigh, he grinned, "But I did and you are."

Rolling herself onto her back and looking shyly up at him, she whispered, "Thank you."

They sat in companionable silence for a moment, Poppy looking intently, happily up at the stars and Fili looking at her the exact same way. Turning her head to find his eyes again, not realizing he'd been staring at her the entire time, she asked, "Is he going to be very angry with you?"

Having to look upward to effectively downplay the truth, the blonde dwarf shook his head slowly as he eased himself onto his back also, "He's been angry at me before for far less important things. We'll work it out. We always do."

The breath she let out after he said that clearly said she still regretted her part in it. Smiling again, he turned his head and found her face not inches from his. At her proximity, at having those eyes so very close to his, it took him longer than he intended to actually make words come out of his mouth, "Thorin shouldn't have said what he did."

At her attempt to protest he shook his head, "Answers he probably deserved, but he didn't have to ask for them that way. He lets his anger get the best of him sometimes and he shouldn't have."

Her own chest and stomach and tingles making her have trouble speaking, too, she just smiled back at him. Without a word, she shifted until she was curled into his shoulder. It was night and under different circumstances he'd have been on watch that aching part of her reasoned. Also, she liked how the tingles she felt were effectively swallowing any leftover sadness. Thorin could be dealt with in the morning; at that moment she was with Fili and she was happy.

In equal silence, the dwarf wrapped his arm around her, pulling her into his side. He could feel her warmth against him from where her cheek rested on his shoulder down to where her toes brushed against his ankles through his boots. He wasn't sure if he was ever going to breathe correctly again because his chest felt like it was going to explode.

They lay together in contented, charged silence as the sound of the water flowing and their own rather catching breathing filled the night. Coming to a decision in her warm and distracted mind, the hobbit lifted her chin up to look at the friend serving as her pillow. Smiling slightly as she watched his almost drowsy gaze flicker down to land upon her, she whispered, "Fili, it's a different night. You can ask if you want to."

It took him a second, but he quickly remembered of what she spoke. Back in the forest when she had made him climb that tree, that very first night, she'd told him to ask why she ran away from some other night. Now, curled up against his side, being so much more his friend—so _very_ much more—she was telling him it was that night she spoke of. Smiling back at her, his voice was low as he whispered, "Do you want me to?"

She nodded, trying to ignore what the sound of his voice was doing to the tingling in her toes.

Tone gentle, he finally asked as she bid, "Anna, why did you run away from home? Why do you know elves? And why are you so very scared that we will hate you?"

Perhaps it was just the excitement of the day or the lack of sleep or the way she never _ever_ wanted to move from where she was currently laying, but that aching part of Poppy's chest wanted nothing more than to explain to at least him, to just get it all out, to have more souls in this world than Bilbo understand why she was the way she was.

Smile enduring, she commented lightly, "It's a long story, just so you know."

He shrugged, "I'm not going anywhere."

It was so soft that he almost didn't hear her gratefully, contentedly whisper, "Good."

Turning her eyes upward, she looked toward the stars and began. A resigned hint of sadness crept in her voice, but it didn't have the strength to overtake her. Too many parts of her were warm, despite having no cloak or blanket, to allow that sadness to drag her down. Her smile had faded and she had no doubt she'd begin crying at some point, but it was okay. She needed to get it out.

"My parents' story was like one you read in stories. She was the beautiful, outgoing, scholarly daughter of the richest hobbit in the Shire and my father was the son of a shepherd with nothing more to his name than half a dozen sheep. Everyone told them not to but they fell in love and they became the sun of one another's worlds. I didn't come up with that myself, either; mum told me that once when I asked how they met. They were everything to one another and we were happy.'

"When she died, I don't think he knew how to live anymore. For the first month after, there were always people at our house, always this huge crowd of people wanting to take care of us. It was suffocating for me because all I ever saw was their pity; it just reminded me that I'd killed her. For him, I think all the people just made him realize even more that she wasn't there. When they all left, when it was just us in that big, empty hobbit hole, I told him what had happened when he asked. It was the first time I'd spoken since they fished me out of the river and I told him the truth. My mother died because I panicked. I could swim but I was terrified and I panicked. I kept dragging her down with me as we went. As I kept screaming and flailing, she never let go of me, she kept me above the water."

Though he said nothing, she felt Fili wrap his arm more tightly about her. Merely blinking against the tears that had sprung up in her eyes, absently wiping them away, she continued, "I think that knowledge was the last straw for my Da; he broke. Even if I hadn't meant to, his only daughter had extinguished his sun of the last forty years. With a sad smile on his face and this lifeless look in his eyes, he just nodded, hugged me, told me he loved me, and sent me to bed. He never spoke to me again. That night while I slept, he decided that life would be easier if Belinda Gamgee and everything that had been associated with her didn't exist anymore. Ignoring all those things would make them cease to exist, including me.'

"I ran away a month later, hoping in my childish mind that if I was gone he would miss me and wake back up. I hid in Bindbale Woods for two days. When I came back, nothing had changed except that all my mother's pictures were gone. I could have gone t Bilbo's, Aunt Belladonna and Uncle Bungo loved me, but I wanted _him_ to want me. I wanted my Da back. I ran away to the woods for a month then and after that I ran to Evendim Lake for almost six. When I returned and he still wouldn't even look at me. If I walked into the room, it meant less to him than if a draft had come through. I stayed for a month when I got back from winter in Evendim. I made the wool cloak that I have, visited Bilbo and his parents for a night, and then went to the Old Forest. That's where I met the elves; that's when they adopted me."

Silence descended once again as her story came to an end, Fili's only immediate reaction being to pull her closer to him and press a lingering kiss to the top of her head. Sighing softly at the feeling, a great weight feeling as if it had been lifted from her shoulders, Poppy settled more comfortably into his hold. Closing her eyes, her last full night of sleep being the one before the trolls, she dozed. Her fingers absently drawing patterns on her pillow's slate grey tunic, the tingling of her stomach helped lull her toward sleep.

While she fluttered in and out of consciousness, Fili found himself inescapably awake. Not only did her story weigh upon his mind, but the feel of her soft, sluggish fingers on his chest had turned that little pull his chest into a roar. No, he was never going to be able to breathe correctly again.

Finally regaining some ability to speak, though his voice sounded coarser and more strangled than he wished, he said into the night, "_We_ want you, Anna. I know you're scared we don't, but we all do. It just took us a little bit to get over the shock."

Her eyes blinking open and her hand coming to a stop, she gazed hopefully up at him as she pushed herself up on her elbow to better look at him, "Really?"

Breath hitching as she put a hand on his chest for balance, as those eyes looked into his and his chest did rebellious things, he managed to smile after bringing his eyes back up from her mouth, "Aye, really. Everyone wanted to say something; I just got there first."

Hope and happiness rising in her chest, a smile began to spread across her face. It didn't quite make it. Her stomach and that aching part of her brought it to a halt halfway there as they made her realize just how very close her face was to Fili's, how very close his lips where to hers as their noses brushed. Without any permission at all, her treacherous eyes immediately flitted down to look at those lips and the beard that surrounded them. Quite suddenly she remembered what that stubble had felt like when she'd kissed his cheek. She remembered how perfectly coarse it had been and a part of her screamed at her to feel it again, to discover how undoubtedly wonderful his lips felt like against hers.

All she had to do was lean down a few inches…

"Well, good evening."

Arms crossed and an incredibly wide grin on his face, Kili stood at the end of the bridge, as he had been for the last five minutes. He continued to watch as both his brother's and Poppy's heads turned impossibly quickly to look at him, bright crimson blushes appearing on their faces. While the hobbit's eyes widened in embarrassment, likely realizing what she had just been about to do, hazel ones that had been passed down from their mother narrowed dangerously.

Kili was really incredibly mean.

Clearing his throat slightly, he explained, "Uncle Thorin sent me. He wants you to come back, Poppy. He said he made a mistake." Grinning as the two still failed to move from their almost entwined position, the younger dwarf added cheekily, "I'll just wait over here for a minute while you two…collect yourselves."

As he disappeared back into the garden, Fili and Poppy turned to look at one another once again. Still a bright red that rivaled the shade of Cynthia Bolger's prize winning roses, she managed to smile. Laughing lightly, she leaned down and fleetingly kissed the dwarf's cheek before pushing herself up and holding out a hand to him.

Attempting to get his heartbeat back under control, Fili returned the smile as he stood beside her. Letting out a deep breath, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they walked forward. Kili came up on Poppy's other side as they continued down the path, still grinning. So that the hobbit between them could not understand the younger brother queried in Khuzdul, "_Having a good night?"_

Fili glared murderously over Poppy's head, "_I hate you so much right now._"

If possible, Kili's grin got even wider.

* * *

A/N: Well hello there! And so here we are, some almost freaking awesome Fili and Poppy goodness! (One reviewer referred to them as Filianna, I rather like that lol). I decided to be mean to them, however, mostly because I have more lovely plans. On other notes, may I just say thank you all so very, very much for the reviews. They're spectacular, as are my traffic stats. So just big thanks all around!

Now for the not so happy note. In about an hour, I will be venturing home for spring break until at least next Saturday. As it were, my mother still lives in the stone age and has no internet. So, no updates until probably next Sunday; however, I'll just put up all the chapters I missed on that one day when I get back.

Finally, I wish you all a great week until I see you again and as always, thanks so much for reading, review if you wish, and I hope you enjoyed. :)


	34. Took A Few Hours

Though the night was quickly disappearing about them, no dwarf had laid down to sleep. The fire had burned down before them and they had let it. The moon gave them most of their light, though none of them had really moved or done anything that required it. Bofur had tried to start a story, but his voice had quickly trailed off into nothing. It just felt odd without their hobbits there, both of them.

Just that afternoon it had been anger to color their thoughts of the girl, but there in the growing darkness of Rivendell it was shame. It was Thorin who had to regret his words, but the others all felt various levels of shame at the words they hadn't said. Their king was rather known for his temper and far more than Poppy had happened that day to try his anger. Elves complicated everything and the wargs had not been a welcomed addition to the day. The hobbit had been the unlucky recipient of all of his pent up frustration and anger, whether she deserved it all or not.

Any one of them could have easily said that she did not, told him to calm down. Only Fili had managed the courage to do so, standing up to his uncle's wrath. Not only that, he'd gone after her. Yes, shame was a prevalent feeling amongst them.

Bilbo was still awake as well, reading the book Poppy had had him bring so long ago in the faint light beside Bifur who was cleaning his glaive. The two of them had found one another almost immediately after Fili had sprinted after Poppy and had remained in one another's silent company as the others warred with themselves.

It had been over an hour after her departure when Thorin, with a deep sigh and an uncharacteristically quiet voice, had told Kili to go find his brother and tell the girl undoubtedly with him to come back. The youngest of them had been gone for likely close to another hour. In the silence that the dwarves' ruminations had produced, the two brothers' and the hobbit's footsteps were easily heard.

As the trio came closer, what sounded like an angry Fili and an overly happy Kili still speaking in Khuzdul reaching their ears, the assembled Company of Thorin Oakenshield rose almost as one. Fili's arm had been retracted from her shoulders, but he and his brother still stood stoutly on her either side like supporting pillars when they walked through the doorway, stopping just a few steps inside.

As she was wont to do, Poppy was looking at her feet, her hands hidden awkwardly behind her. The others were not to notice that one of those hands was being fiercely, comfortingly held by the blonde dwarf only inches from her. A stiff silence descended upon them even as they stood.

Finally, sighing with exhaustion and an almost tangible bit of regret, Thorin stepped forward. Waiting until she looked up at him, which took a few minutes, he inclined his head slightly when her blue eyes found his. Voice gruff but softer than usual when directed at her, he said, "Get some sleep, girl. We can discuss everything in the morning. It has been a long two days for all of us."

Though it was not an apology, Poppy had been expecting and prepared for far less. He was allowing her back, was in his own odd way allowing that she belonged with them if only in the dark of night. That was something and she would not turn it away. Smiling slightly, she nodded and breathed, "Thank you, sir."

As he turned away, stepping toward his own bedroll, she was quite suddenly mobbed. Her hand was torn from Fili's as the others who had become her friends all surged forward at once, babbling out various apologies as they engulfed her in an enormous group hug that left her gasping for air. Only Dwalin, Balin, and Gloin held themselves back, settling themselves beside their king.

Ori was the last one left clinging to her, proclaiming great eloquent declarations of how very sorry he was. Smiling widely, she squeezed the younger dwarf in a hug and kissed his cheek. "It's fine, Ori. I would have been angry with me, too."

"Well, yes," he stuttered while turning a bright red but protested immediately after, "but we're dwarves. We're supposed to be made of more loyal stuff than anyone else. It's supposed to be in the fiber of our beings. Mahal wanted us made of stronger stuff than others…"

"You are. It just took a few hours," she soothed, fully believing Fili's earlier words once confronted with all the care sent her way.

Taking his brother by the shoulder and pulling her off of the hobbit, Dori promised solemnly while squeezing her shoulder, "Never will it again, lass."

The crowd about her dissipated slowly, many more hugs being given, as she drifted toward where Bilbo and Bifur still sat, her things beside them. While she hadn't really noticed earlier, she was then incredibly tired. As Thorin had said, it really had been a long two days and she hadn't gotten nearly enough time to gloriously doze on Fili's shoulder with his arm about her.

Blushing at the memory of what had nearly happened after that short, perfect snooze, she glanced over her shoulder to see him gazing at her in the dim light. A smile lit up his face as he and Kili made to lie down in their bedrolls beside their uncle. Her stomach flaring up to life despite her exhaustion, her smile widened into something that was likely completely ridiculous as she sat down.

Easily noticing the dreamy look on his cousin's face, Bilbo frowned. Looking from her to the dwarf across the fire, he found a suspicious and mischievous grin on Kili's face. The younger brother knew something, likely why she looked so floaty and why a similar expression was on his brother's face.

As she lay down and pulled her cloak about her, a smile still on her face, Bifur began huffing with silent laughter. The dwarf had been in love once, very long ago when he'd been whole and had the ability to profess his love in more than stunted phrases. The decades had passed him by, but he still remembered the feeling he got when she had looked at him. He remembered the grins they had exchanged when they thought no one was looking, or at least didn't have the sense to care if anyone was. The same goofy expressions were on Poppy and Fili's faces and it amused the old warrior to no end, mostly because neither of them seemed to fully understand yet.

They would. He didn't know how long it would take, but they would.

Altogether rather confused by his cousin's odd demeanor and Bifur's laughter, Bilbo asked quietly and nonchalantly, "Poppy, what was that?"

Not turning to look at him, she queried tiredly, "Hmmm?"

"What was that? What's happened to get you so…dreamy?" He really couldn't come up with a better adjective than that. Happy didn't quite cover the sparkle in her eyes or the way her mouth seemed to smile without her noticing in the slightest.

A slight blush coming to her cheeks, she muttered, "I'm tired?"

"Did you not sleep before Fili or Kili found you?"

Blush deepening, she mumbled into her cloak, "Only a little. Good night, Bilbo." Rolling over, noting absently the laughter of her silent friend, she turned her back to her cousin and his questions, content as warmth and acceptance washed over her to sleep with hopefully some dreams of what could have been had Kili not been so very ornery.

Across the fire, the long hours and the excitement of the day took its toll upon the others, each of them dropping off to sleep in similar fashions until only Fili and Thorin were left awake and staring at the vaulted, rounded ceiling. The tension between them was palpable, but only to them. Kili had dropped off to sleep beside his brother without noticing it in the slightest, though Fili supposed that wasn't out of the ordinary. Kili had either, never noticed when Thorin expected so much more of his brother, or was incredibly good at hiding his knowledge for Fili's sake.

Noticing that his uncle was also awake, what looked like a good many things on his mind as he stared blankly upwards, the nephew finally breathed, "I am sorry, uncle, for my words. I did not know what else to do."

Thorin noted that Fili's apology did not extend to what he had done, nor that he had spoken, only what had been said. To the hobbit's credit, she had seemed to know what would occur between uncle and nephew had she not silenced the younger and left without protest when she did. The state of his relationship with his nephews and indeed the rest of his men seemed to be of particular import to her now that he thought of it. Sighing, wondering just how deep his depravity had the ability to go when he didn't check his temper, Thorin shook his head, "No. You were right, Fili."

Sighing in his own right, the blonde dwarf looked over, "I did not have to say it in quite so…_forceful_ tones, though."

Smiling slightly, Thorin shrugged, "Perhaps not, but I likely would not have listened to them had they not been. And I needed to listen. While I am still not happy with her presence on the quest, there is nothing for you to apologize for. There is no anger between us, lad." Clapping the boy whom he had seen raised into a man on the shoulder, he whispered, "You and your brother are far better dwarves than I, Fili."

Without another word, the king rolled over in his blankets, having revealed enough emotion for that evening. Fili stared at his back with wonder for many moments before settling himself on his side, facing Kili, a small smile on his face.

* * *

A/N: Well hello again! It feels like so very long since I saw all of you! So, I've got most of my four promised chapters done and I'll post them here as I see them fit for reading today and tomorrow. May I just say a giant THANK YOU! :D for all the reviews. I made my fiance read me one every night while I was gone from the lovely interwebs. :) I shall endeavor to answer all of them today.

And, for a little preview of the next week, yes Kili was indeed a cockblock most unkind, but he shall get his comeuppance and (it will probably be a little later in the week) Fili and Poppy just might get to pick up where they left off... And I now say (for this and the next three chapters) thanks so much for reading, review if the desire takes you, and I hope you enjoy. :D


	35. Compromise

"Well wake her up then. Ask her. She's the one to know."

The midmorning sun streaming through the many pane less windows of their guest house the next morning, a circle of a few dwarves watched as Poppy groaned silently upon hearing varied whispers and words about her, attempting to curl herself more deeply in the warmth of her cloak.

Hurriedly shushing and swatting the dwarf's arm, Bilbo chastised in a whisper, "Will you shut up, Dwalin? Can't you wait until she's awake?"

"No," the warrior growled, not taking the energy to lower his volume, "I would very much like breakfast and I'm not about to go begging those _elves_ for it. She knows them; it's her job."

Rolling his eyes and throwing his arms in the air, the hobbit shook his head, "First you're angry because she knows them in the slightest and now you want to wake her up just so she can ask them for your breakfast?!"

Raising an eyebrow, leaning upon his axe, Dwalin replied gruffly, "You'd better be happy that I'm not mad at her anymore, lad. Either I'm angry at her or she's useful. Take it or leave it."

The hobbit did not seem to realize that he was giving his cousin the benefit of the doubt. The day before, Dwalin had indeed been incredibly angry with her, feelings of betrayal quite prominent. That morning, he was attempting in his own sweet way to include her, acknowledge that her knowledge of their hosts was beneficial and she was needed. It wasn't his fault if the hobbit couldn't figure that out, because he certainly wasn't going to spell it out for him.

"I'll 'take it' as soon as she's awake in her own time. Bifur, Fili, help me out here," Bilbo whispered, turning to the other dwarves in an effort to talk some sense into the first.

Eyes widening, Fili could only shrug helplessly from where he still sat, leaning against the wall as he sorted absently through the contents of his pack. If he spoke then none of it would matter because she'd wake up, though no one else needed to know that. It was bad enough that Kili knew and oh, he was going to make his little brother make it up to him…

Chuckling, Bifur leveled a look at first the hobbit and then Dwalin. "_She walks and we ride. She sleeps. Then breakfast_," was all he said, ending the conversation as the unspoken authority on their follower.

Another sleepy sound escaping the girl at their feet at the sound of the guttural but pleasant language she had come to like, they all took a simultaneous step back. It did little good as within a few moments, she was reluctantly blinking her eyes against the light. Bringing her cousin, Dwalin, Balin, Dori, Kili, Bifur, and Bombur into focus above her, she whispered, clearly surprised as well as drowsy, "Umm, good morning?"

With no small bit of confusion, she took the hand that Dwalin offered her, righting herself and yawning as she rolled up her cloak. Arms again crossed and again leaning on his axe, gave answer to questioning nature of her words, "Aye, it will be a good morning, lass. We need your help."

"Really…?" Her gaze flitted between the warrior and his king momentarily, wondering what the dwarf could possibly need.

"Aye," he gave a sharp nod. "These _elves_ are your friends, your people as much as anything. You can show us where to find some meat for breakfast."

Coughing uncomfortably, attempting to not reveal a smile at all this being connected back to food, she commented softly, "You all do realize that I've never actually been here before. I never met an elf that I saw more than once. Until last evening, the only elves I'd ever met were those bound for the Havens and none of us have met for a second time."

"Well then how do they all know about you?" Bombur queried, his breakfast being shoved from the front of his thoughts momentarily.

Shrugging, she put her cloak down upon her pack, voice even quieter, "I was never quite sure. They just knew me."

Taking her by the shoulders and turning her toward the doorway, Dwalin said curtly "I'm sure even our lovely hosts gossip with one another. There are _elves_ at the harbor; they're sure to speak to their kin. Now, lass, tell us where we can find the ruddy meat."

She laughed as she was bodily pushed toward the door with as much physical contact as the older warrior, Thorin's right hand man, had ever given her. "You won't find any."

He and everyone else with a beard plus Kili immediately froze. Seemingly near tears, Bombur questioned with a quivering lip, "N-N-No meat?"

Forcibly holding back giggles at the complete horror upon their faces, she shook her head and confirmed, "They don't eat meat of any kind except for fish."

"Are you _sure_, lass? _Really_ sure." Had she not known better, she would have also suspected tears to be in Dwalin's voice. However, every bit of her told her that he had not voluntarily shed a tear since he pushed himself to his stout little feet as a babe and began to begin taking on the world.

Raising an eyebrow at the tattooed dwarf as he so enjoyed doing, mimicking in the same fashion as she did Bilbo, she placed her hands on her hips, "Dwalin, as you have so kindly pointed out, they are _my_ friends and I cooked for them for almost twenty years. Yes, I am really very, quite inescapably and deadly sure that they do not eat meat. I can offer you plenty of ideas for your next salad, however…"

At the so very cranky looks sent her way, hiding her grin failed and laughter started in her stomach and bubbled up with ever-growing mirth.

"Oh good, you have all made up it appears." A similarly large smile upon his face, Gandalf had appeared at the foot of the stairs with Lindir at his side. "You have all been invited to a late breakfast, which our gracious friend here will conduct us to. Shall we?"

The old man had offered his arm to the hobbit, but just before her hand touched his sleeve a sharp voice halted her motion, "Wait a moment, Poppy."

Striding forward from where he had been sitting in silence since the first ray of sunlight had awakened him hours earlier, Thorin appeared upon the other side of the remnants of their fire. All eyes turned toward him, none but Lindir failing to notice that it was the first time he had _ever_ referred to her by her given name. Despite the wary looks in many of his companions' eyes—that Thorin supposed he really did deserve after the previous night—he kept an impassive expression on his face when he continued, "If I could have a few words with you, girl, we can then catch up to the others."

Merely nodding, she retracted her hand from where it reached for Gandalf and strode toward him, the others getting up and reluctantly following the wizard. Fili was the last to pass her, a comforting smile on his lips. Returning it with her eyes if not her own mouth, she glanced over her shoulder and watched him leave her completely and utterly alone with his uncle.

At first the tension was painfully apparent as she stared at her feet and he at just about anything but her face. Finally sighing slightly, the dwarf jumped valiantly in first, saying with something less than his usual gruffness, "I was wrong, Poppy, and I admit that I was so. I should not have sent you away."

Unsure where her voice had come from, because it sounded distinctly like that of a child thirty years her junior, she replied, "I should not have been so thoughtless where your lives were concerned."

"Perhaps," he suggested as they hesitantly found one another's gazes, "we can come to a compromise. I will still try my very best to make you return home, away from all the danger undoubtedly before us. And you will come to me with any danger you might encounter until you finally turn back and go home, but I will not keep you from finding us at night."

"So you still do not want me with you."

Though her words were clearly more statement than question as it appeared she knew well what being unwanted looked like, Thorin shook his head in answer, "No more than I have since the moment you began following us. Therefore, not in the slightest."

"But you won't send me away again." She was always irritatingly hard to read, but she seemed incredibly acceptant of the situation…

The king let out another small, irritated sigh with something dangerously resembling humor hidden deeply within it, "I cannot stop you from following us, girl. I also cannot guarantee that I will not again get _testy_ with you," he tried to imagine that the stiff cough she got as soon as he said that was coincidental and not an attempt to cover up a snort, "but when night falls, you will always have a safe place amongst us. If I can't make you see sense and just go home, then that's the very least I can do, girl. Other than that, everything can return to the way it was."

While some part of Poppy had been hoping for an actual apology or some admission that he had underestimated her value among them, she took what the proud dwarf before her was offering. She would much rather take a return to what they'd had—their two sentence conversations each day and rather uncomfortable tension when they were in one another's company—than have him stay mad at her or forcibly make her leave. Also, in his own way, she could see that the compromise was as much of an apology as his stubborn nobility allowed him to give. She had no doubt that after they left the guest house and rejoined the others, he would continue to be silent and rather broody about her, that he would urge her at every chance to leave them, but in that short, odd little moment, he was willfully accepting that he was stuck with her.

Inclining her head, feeling her braid slide over her shoulder as her chin came down to almost brush her chest, she replied quietly, "Thank you, sir."

That braid catching his eye for some odd reason, the part of Thorin that hid his feelings suddenly took control of his mouth. "While you are most certainly not a dwarf, we have a custom when it comes to making agreements between one another. I feel rather bound to do so now."

Blinking eyes surprised when she brought her head back up, she mutely nodded. He held out his right hand to her and watched as she hesitantly took it and then followed his lead as, after clasping hands, he brought his hand to rest upon his heart and she did the same, the crooks of their elbows touching as her tiny arm was still linked with his much larger one.

There was now no way she could ever call into question the sincerity with which he made the promise, nor could he ever let himself out of it. He still didn't like it and still didn't want her about for all the reasons he had mentioned on multiple occasions and could still point out to her as robustly as he wished, but she could count on a safe place to sleep until she finally caved and turned back.

Poppy waited until the dwarf before her retracted his hand to do so herself. Though giving each other plenty of distance between them, they left the guest house together with Thorin's gruff words of, "Now where are your _friends_ serving food?"

At the edge of the courtyard that lay before the dwelling, Lindir was lingering, subtly facing out toward the valley in a show that he had not been listening. Inclining his head to them both, he gestured forward, "Mithrandir has taken your companions on. Please, follow me."

As Lindir asked about their evening and if their quarters had suited them, Poppy replied in happy and easy, though decidedly quiet, Elvish while Thorin stared darkly at the grey stone path beneath his boots. He may have still incredibly disliked her presence, but she was certainly handy to have around when their hosts felt…chatty.

* * *

"_Meduianna!_"

Altering course from where she'd been heading straight for the empty seat between Fili and Bilbo, Poppy tried to ignore the small silent sigh that escaped her along with the bright blush that appeared on her cheeks. She wasn't sure in the slightest what had happened the night before between her and Fili, though she was achingly aware of what had _not_ thanks to Kili. She didn't know where on earth she'd gotten those thoughts and in all honesty, she wasn't sure she wanted to dissect their origin. What she did want, however, was to spend some more time with him. That did not appear to be the way the course of her morning was going, though.

Smiling despite those thoughts, she seated herself beside the two elves who had summoned her at a table quite near the dwarves'. Bifur soon appeared right next to her. Though she often found herself sending glances to the other table, Elrohir and Elladan proved amusing companions of the highest caliber. Far younger than many elves, but still centuries older than her, they asked all manner of questions with an excitement that remaindered her of two taller, more graceful, and quieter Oris. But with Ori, she didn't have to work to bring her Elvish vocabulary back.

As she munched upon her fruit and honeyed porridge, she suddenly frowned after answering a question about the Old Forest, "_How did our kin always know me? It's not as if I have any distinguishing characteristics from other hobbits._"

Stifling a bit of a laugh, Elladan replied, _"In that you are wrong, Meduianna. You had two incredibly unique characteristics that were recognized. First, no other hobbit lived in the middle of the Old Forest. Second, not many hobbits known to us can converse with us."_

"_But I couldn't for the first few years,_" she protested, stifling a leftover yawn.

"_Your staff was also unique_," Elrohir added somewhat more calmly, being the slightly quieter of the two princes. Poppy couldn't help but notice that while for elves the two brothers were loud, compared to her dwarves they appeared almost aloof. The contrast between the two races was incredible and she wondered if part of their mutual dislike did not stem from a simple clash of personalities…

Frown deepening, her head tilted as it did when she was confused, _"My staff_?"

"_Indeed,"_ the elf confirmed. "_Upon the slight chance that another hobbit should be roaming about the forest, you were always known by your staff. It was finely made._" Poppy felt it would be rather useless to try and tell them that it was not and that she'd more found and sanded it than made it.

"_Where is it, anyway? I haven't seen it since yesterday when Lord Elrond gave it and my pack to someone. I was returned my pack, but what happened to it?"_ Now that the excitement was over, she was incredibly aware that her weapon was not with her and she did not like the empty feeling that knowledge gave. Part of her wondered how she'd ever let herself not notice it was gone in the first place.

"_Father has sent it to the smiths_," Elladan explained. _"He said he felt it best they look at it to ensure its condition before you and your companions continued on._"

Smiling suddenly as she nodded and returned to her breakfast, no doubt waiting in her quiet way for one of them to continue the conversation, the two brothers exchanged glances. Elladan continued upon their subtle nod, "_Neither of us has ever seen you use it, you know."_

The way she froze and her head began to slowly look up indicated that she had been baited like this rather similarly at some point. They weren't to know that it was Bifur who had just not taken no for an answer and had begun to train her instead of asking her to display her skill.

"_Indeed, I do know that. However if it is with the smiths then it appears you will continue not to…_"

The slight bite in her tone made the two brothers laugh. "_There you have a very good point, Meduianna. Your skill shall stay a mystery to us,_" Elrohir conceded with a smile.

"_My complete lack of skill you mean."_ Returning their smiles as she sent a glance toward the dwarves' table that had gone suspiciously quiet at the elves' laughter, she commented rather louder than she normally would, "_While I am not available for such diversions, my friend _Kili_ is an archer much like yourselves._"

She watched as every single last dwarf froze where he sat and the one in question appeared to swallow quite hard. None of them knew what she was talking about aside that it was about Kili, but they didn't like it. From where he was seated beside Thorin, Gandalf began to chuckle uncontrollably beneath his grey beard. Bifur sent her a questioning glance that hid a smile. She was up to something.

Grin strengthening when she thought of the smug smirk upon the youngest dwarf's face the evening before, she found Fili's gaze. It took him a short moment, but he soon smiled back, gleaning some of her intent from the mischievous way those blue eyes were sparkling at him.

Her revenge was a dish best served to Kili by elves, it appeared. Looking back to her eating companions, she added,_ "He is quite proficient at his craft. I am sure that he would be very happy to display it for you after our meal if that is what you desire._"

Both elven faces turning to find the dwarf she pointed out with, Elrohir and Elladan nodded with friendly smiles. The latter commented, "_That would be lovely. We have never met a dwarf who carries a bow._" The unspoken addition to that statement was that they had never met a dwarf at all.

"_We had never met a hobbit who carried a staff, either." _At Elrohir's words, she sent them both a look.

Gazing at the still stiffened postures of her friends, she continued more seriously, "_Actually, I think all my companions would appreciate a short chance to spar with one another if you have the space. I think it might help with their…surprise at staying here so unexpectedly._"

Being more than astute enough to understand her allusions toward the tensions between the two races, Elrohir nodded, "_Certainly. We can conduct all of you there as soon as the meal has ended. Father hoped he might speak with you at some point today, as well. I think he wants to talk about…_" The elf trailed off, his eyes instinctively looking west.

"_Her_," Poppy finished softly for him. A small smile coming to her face as she changed the course of their conversation, she assured the brothers, "_I will find him before the morning is through. I am sure one or two of my companions will find his library more interesting than a training ground, anyway._"

The trio's words turned quickly to other, less sensitive things, and their meal was soon done, everyone present leaning back in their seats slightly, more than one commenting on the lack of meat... Rising and beckoning the chamberlain over, Elladan declared, once again in Westron, "Lindir, Meduianna has given us an excellent idea."

Elrohir picked up the thought from there, "We shall now take our guests to the training grounds. Should you find anyone with a wish to witness our guests' legendary battle prowess conduct them our way."

As Lindir inclined his head silently, graceful and aloof as ever, a murmur rippled through the dwarves. At the elf's subtle compliment, it proved an excited and proud ripple.

Bifur turned to the girl at his side and gave her arm an approving squeeze, causing her to smile. It was indeed an excellent idea. Thorin's pent up frustration at the situation had been displayed all too clearly to her the evening before. A release of the stress that was so well-known to them would do them all good. There was nothing that made the tension in a dwarf's mind disappear like hacking away at something with his weapon of choice. The lass had done well.

Noticing how well the idea was being taken to, Elladan added with a smile as Poppy took his and his brother's proffered arms, "We have also been informed that there is an archer among them and we are quite interested to see his skills."

The smile that had been growing on Kili's face abruptly melted into a look of horror, realizing what Poppy had done to him in that deceptively flowing language. _Elves_?! She wanted him to shoot his bow in comparison to _elves_, the most famous and renowned archers of…_always_!

Sputtering with laughter that was not to be controlled, Fili hauled Kili up out of his chair and pulled him along as the group followed their hosts down a flight of stairs and across a few open courtyards.


	36. Distraction

"_And the best seat for the lovely Meduianna_."

Poppy blushed bright red at the two elves' unison words and had to hold back a laugh, wondering why it was that she was always _lovely_ to everyone. Squeaking with surprise, she soon found both her hands being held tightly in theirs as they lifted her clean off the ground and gently set her upon the rocks that made the end of Rivendell's practice grounds. Her feet swinging below her, she found her eyes level with their dark grey elven ones for the first time.

The dwarves soon all filed down the stairs and spilled out on the flat and grass-covered area that had been placed upon one of the lowest levels of the haven, quite close to the forges and the guest house they had stopped by to get their weapons from. The wall that Poppy sat upon was not so much a wall as the end of the level above them. Though with more trouble and decidedly more panting, Bilbo pulled himself to sit beside his cousin. Ori was soon on her other side.

Turning away from their hobbit with smiles, the brothers strode across the space to stand before their guests. Their bows were drawn from their backs before even their long strides got them there. Looking proud and confident in his own abilities but also decidedly apprehensive and intimidated despite his best intentions, Kili stepped forward at their bidding, his own bow in hand. He sent a light glare toward Poppy that she returned with a grin and wave.

The others all watching him, Kili appeared to take in a deep breath before taking an arrow from the quiver Elladan had stuck into the ground. He forced his hands not to shake as the two tall beings watched him, calm but encouraging smiles on their faces that did not make him feel better. As he drew the arrow back toward his ear and aimed, a little voice in his head said that Poppy was far more adept in the revenge department than he'd expected… Thankfully, the arrow found its way to the center of the target, his brethren cheering him as Elrohir and Elladan clapped.

"It appears that Meduianna was right about your skill, Master Kili," Elrohir said warmly as he strung his own bow. "Shall we continue? Perhaps between the two of us, we can again defeat my brother."

"You only split my arrow _once_, Elrohir," Elladan shot back with a raised eyebrow, stringing his own bow as the others dispersed, readying themselves for some sparring and leaving the archers to their own devices.

Not understanding the look that had been exchanged between Kili and his cousin but deciding that given it was Kili he was probably better off not knowing, Bilbo asked in a quiet voice as weapons were drawn and anxious smiles appeared on faces, "So what did Thorin have to say? Did he apologize?"

"Yes, in his own way," the girl replied, sending him a small smile through a yawn. She had not gotten enough sleep and the slow, safe aura that Rivendell exuded was making her body scream for more naps.

"Dwarves do not apologize often, Bilbo," Ori offered, his voice also quiet but knowing, as if he had perhaps been on the receiving end of overly harsh criticism before, too. "Especially not warriors like Thorin or Dwalin."

"We made a compromise. He will continue to try his best to get me to go home, but he will never send me away again," Poppy explained, watching as Elladan, Elrohir and Kili began to shoot off arrows at far-away targets, the dwarf holding his own with a smile on his face. For all that Kili would be angry with her, they seemed to be having an enthusiastic conversation.

Closer to the three who chose to sit out, the remaining eleven dwarves had all drawn weapons and, as the warm June sun shone down, begun to strip off layers of armor that had been put on by habit that morning. Absently, Poppy noticed that Bilbo and Ori began talking once again, their words and the clanging of weapons that soon began flying uselessly over her head, completely missing her ears. Instead, fingers mindlessly playing the end of her braid as time passed, she watched with a wonderfully daydreaming kind of fascination as Fili's slate blue tunic found itself upon the ground…

* * *

"Poppy... Poppy!"

"Hmmm," she responded distractedly, her mind not quite ready to give up watching the bared and really quite lovely muscles of Fili's arms as he spun his swords in his hands, sparring vigorously with Gloin at his side, Bofur and Balin their friendly adversaries. No, her fuzzy brain was not at all prepared to cease watching his muscles or how he smiled with excitement at the exertion or how his braids swung about after him as he moved swiftly from position to position. The whole heat and sweat part certainly wasn't detracting from the situation either…

Frowning, exchanging a confused glance over her head with Ori, Bilbo said with exasperation likely almost an hour after they arrived, "I've been asking how you're doing."

Again he didn't receive an answer. Raising his voice so that it cut through even the ring of weapons upon weapons and the swift, rhythmic thrum of the three archers' bowstrings, he said, "POPPY!" He succeeded in not only getting her attention but also everyone else's.

Going an incredibly bright red at realizing what exactly she'd been doing for the last who knew how long, she snapped her head to look at her cousin. Neither saw Bifur groan with irritation at their burglar's lack of tact, the axe blade in his forehead shaking reprovingly with the rest of his head.

Poppy suddenly wondered if it was possible to murder her cousin with her own embarrassment, given she now had it in spades. Apparently realizing he had just humiliated all the red into her face by bringing her to the center of attention, he coughed uncomfortably before calling, "Sorry. Carry on."

Various chuckles were heard at the burglar's sometimes odd ways from the dwarves and some of the crowd of elves that had been slowly arriving, a few stepping forward with swords in an effort to test their own skills. A sly, wondering smile appeared on Fili's face as he realized that the shade of Poppy's blush was far beyond was it usually was. What could have distracted her? She did not turn to look at him for him to confirm his suspicions unfortunately.

A sheepish smile on his face as Ori sniggered behind her, Bilbo offered, "I was going to ask you how you were doing with all the elves making you the guest of honor and therefore, center of attention, but…"

"…but you seem to have answered that already, Bilbo," Ori finished with a grin.

Rolling her eyes at them both, Poppy unsuccessfully fought to get her cheeks back to a normal color as she hopped down. Avoiding Fili's gaze with everything she was worth, she said softly, "Come on, I'm to go see Elrond. I'll leave the two of you in his library."

Scurrying down to follow her up the stairs and away from the training area, the two more peacefully inclined of the Company hurried on without any other words, lest she leave them somewhere and they never find the library.

"Don't touch anything breakable, Ori!" Dori called after them, causing the younger dwarf to blush beneath his beard and urge Poppy on faster.

Snorting with laughter still as he swung his iron staff in his hand before turning back to the elf he was sparring with, Oin chuckled, "The lass is going to kill that cousin of hers one of these days."

Seeming to agree, the dark-haired elf before him smiled in response, bringing his sword back to the ready and replying, "It was always said that Meduianna silently endured any teasing given to her, but she had the habit of just as silently getting one back for it later."

"Then your people and mine indeed know the same lass," the old warrior said with a nod before lashing out with his staff.

* * *

A/N: Okay, so it's really short, but this chapter made me giggle, so I decided to put it up even if it's only closer to half done. You all had to quit cold turkey for a week, so I feel you deserve it, my lovely readers. :D


	37. The Shire Triumphant

"Bilbo, where's Poppy?"

Having to almost physically pull his attention from the book on ancient Beleriand maps in his hands, Bilbo paused his reading to look up at the blonde dwarf before him. Frowning slightly, taking in his appearance, the hobbit queried, "Why are you all wet?"

"Because I took a bath, Bilbo. Elladan and Elrohir showed us all to the baths after we finished at the training grounds, given we have to go to dinner a few hours," Fili replied with a slight roll of the eyes. He had dried off; he wasn't _that_ wet. Though he had hurried a bit, wanting to leave to find her before Kili finished discussing bow woods with the twins. "Now where's Poppy?"

The hobbit gestured upward from the small bench he had seated himself upon in Elrond's large, rounded library, his finger indicating the top of a winding circular staircase. "She went to see Elrond when we got here and she hasn't been down since. They were going to talk about something. Gandalf left when she arrived, but I haven't seen her."

"They're done, though," Ori supplied distractedly from some hidden space amongst the shelves, his pencil in hand and his notebook being fiercely scribbled in. Looking up fleetingly from the pile of Second Age Blue Mountain accounts scattered around him, the scholar added, "He has come down since then, though she hasn't. Do you need her for something?"

"No," Fili replied hurriedly. "I just wanted to see her for a bit." Thankfully the two bookworms were too invested in their respective scholarly pursuits to notice the faint blush on the prince's cheeks as he strode quickly forward.

"Where's Kili?" Bilbo asked, as if suddenly realizing he was conversing with only one brother. "You two are always together."

"I've noticed," the dwarf muttered darkly under his breath before explaining as he climbed the stairs, "He's discussing archery with Elrohir and Elladan. Enjoy your book." He was up the stairs and out of sight before either of them could say anything more, both returning to their books without another thought anyway.

The second level of the library was much like the first. Books upon graceful shelves lined the walls, an open doorway leading to a balcony on both west and east sides. While he supposed for a library, a place of reading, it made sense, but it felt odd to Fili to have so much open space. What happened if it rained? A fine layer of mist from the waterfalls seemed to cover everything and everyone, but unless you were really paying attention you didn't notice. What did the elves do if actual rain fell upon them? Everything was so very beautiful, but at least appeared fragile at the same time.

Looking about in search of the hobbit, sighing silently at how she had not yet appeared, words suddenly hit the dwarf's ears. "May I help you, Master Dwarf?"

Concealing his start of surprise as best he could, Fili turned to see Elrond standing before him, his footsteps just as disconcertingly silent as Poppy's were. "I'm looking for Poppy…err, Meduianna." His tongue tripped slightly over the foreign word. The elves could call her what they wished, but it just felt odd to use it himself. She was Poppy, Anna when no one else was about.

Smiling slightly, the elf help up his hand, "We are aware of her other names. She gave the name Anna to my kin who first found her many years ago. Her mother's choice of pet name was well-chosen, though from what Meduianna says the choice was no accident."

Finding himself genuinely curious as well as something else, something not too happy, something building given he was being delayed from finding her, he asked, "Why is that…?"

"_Anna_ means gift in my tongue. That her mother chose to call her only child such a thing says much about the intelligence of her mother."

"How did your people come up with the name?"

The answer pained the elf, but he had walked the earth for enough years to successfully hide the sting, "One of the first to meet her in the forest bestowed it upon her, believing, I think, that it was appropriate. It has remained with her ever since. You are Fili, are you not?"

Despite being the most diplomatic of his family, something about the elven lord made Fili uneasy. Elladan and Elrohir were open for elves. They had more straight forward attitudes that he and his kin could appreciate and understand. Perhaps it was the continually growing feeling in his chest that he would call jealousy if he didn't know better, but being one-on-one with Elrond was…uncomfortable.

"Yes, I am."

Nodding, Elrond continued, attempting to ease the mind of his stiffening companion, "You bear resemblance to your grandfather in his youth, though I met him only twice. Bifur said you would likely be the one to come find Meduianna when I wished to speak to her."

Eyes snapping back to the grey ones looking at him with surprise, Fili continued with likely more sharpness than necessary, a part of his chest pulling uncomfortably, wishing he could just be conducted to where she was, "Why _did_ you want to talk to her? _What_ was so important you had to summon her away?"

Upon recognizing the hostility in the dwarf's tone, Elrond realized two things. First, for all that tensions had been lessened, the dwarves were just as unsure of how to be guests of elves as the elves were of how to be hosts to dwarves. Hacking away at one another good-naturedly did wonders for ensuring politeness a few hours later at dinner, but the wariness would not so easily be worn down. Second, as Bifur's sly tone had unintentionally suggested, the young prince of Durin was harboring some very protective feelings for Meduianna. And, he held enough of those feelings to come off as almost biting to his host without looking the slightest bit remorseful. The elf kept his small smile contained.

"Meduianna's first year in the forest was the year that my wife left these shores. Celebrian was the one to name her. I wished only to learn of my wife's last days spent with our hobbit." In a surprising amount of candidness to a person he barely knew, he added, "She had been attacked and kidnapped by orcs, prompting her decision to leave Middle-earth. She was so very dead upon departing from us that how she arrived at the Havens has weighed upon my mind for many years."

Whatever that unpleasant feeling in Fili's chest had been, it promptly disappeared and was quickly replaced with a rather ashamed one… Poppy probably would have smacked him for being so snippy.

Not commenting further on the strain that had appeared on the dwarf's face, Elrond gestured to one of the balconies, "There is a staircase to your right. Meduianna retreated up there when our conversation finished. I believe that being the center of so much attention is…odd to her and she needed a respite. Good afternoon, Master Fili."

"Thank you." Shaking his head at the incredibly odd direction his simple search for Poppy had taken, the dwarf tried not to jog when he made his way to the balcony, leaving the elven lord with a smile reminiscent of Gandalf's.

Fili trudged his way up the stairs in the bright, still blazing sunshine of the June afternoon. That had been just unpleasant. He'd known for as long as he'd been alive that his people didn't like elves and elves didn't like his people. That was just the way of things. However, during his conversation with Elrond, it hadn't been that longstanding tradition that was making his chest get anxious. He had spent time with elves all day since breakfast. Of course, he'd been with his kin and swords for that and the lord of Rivendell was an intimidating figure in his ancient, omniscient-seeming wisdom. At the same time, none of that felt like the main cause of his tension. The more stairs he climbed, the more he realized that _he_ had been the uncomfortable one, not Elrond.

No, that angry pull had revolved around _her_. He hadn't liked not being able to find _her_. He hadn't liked the elves knowing so very much about _her_. He hadn't liked the idea of Elrond ordering _her_ to a conversation. He hadn't liked thinking of how uncomfortable all the attention was making _her_. He had wanted to protect _her_.

Odd, that was the only way to look at it. It was all just odd. Well, frustrating could probably go in there, too. He still wanted to kill Kili for his horrible timing. He thought that his very lungs had forgotten how to breathe when she'd hovered over him, a curious, happy brightness in her blue eyes. All he'd had to do was lean up a few inches, but then Kili had just _had_ to arrive.

He groaned in spite of himself upon reaching the top of the stairs. They were in the middle of a quest; he shouldn't have to be worrying about all of his _feelings_!

Just as the desire to be rid of the whole emotional mess flared uncomfortably to life, it was immediately smothered to death by a swell that rose in his chest and a smile that spread across his face. A book dangling precariously from a hand that had slipped off her chest, the girl who had been unconsciously causing his brain so much trouble was lying on a dark wood bench. Face and closed eyes upturned toward the sky, her braid having fallen off the bench, she was fast asleep.

Quite suddenly, everything was incredibly simple.

Allowing all of the confusing mass of thoughts in his head to just disappear, Fili strode forward, smile planted firmly on his face as his rather angsty mood vanished upon seeing her. Poppy being asleep wasn't exactly conducive to the teasing he'd had in mind, but he couldn't complain about being with her. Gently taking the book from her sleeping grasp, he sank down to the floor and leaned against her bench, her arm brushing his.

Slipping off his boots, making himself comfortable, he opened the book she'd been reading, finding it written in Westron. Snickering slightly at the subject matter, he flipped past the contents and began to read.

* * *

Blinking her eyes against the late afternoon sun with a great yawn, Poppy sighed happily upon rejoining the land of the living, a smile upon her face. She had needed the nap, the last forty-eight hours just having far too much excitement for the amount of sleep she'd had.

Rolling onto her side, frowning slightly at realizing her book was gone, she was confronted with a head of thick blonde hair. Looking at it stupidly, it took her a drowsy moment to realize what she was looking at. A blush lit up in her cheeks before she had the chance to think. It was probably for the best that Fili was again fully clothed…

Smiling, forcing her stupid cheeks to calm themselves, she reached out a hesitant finger and gently poked him in the back of the head.

"Well good afternoon to you, too," he greeted with mock irritation as he turned around with a smile bright enough to mirror hers. "You left us before any of us could talk to you earlier."

Her rebellious cheeks heated up again, though she managed a laugh, "Blame Bilbo. He's the one who hasn't realized the value of subtlety."

Raising an eyebrow questioningly at her, Fili teased, "You were the one not paying attention. What had you so very distracted, Miss Poppy Gamgee? Were your elven friends _that_ interesting?" He ignored the way a part of him hated the very idea.

Snorting and affectionately shoving his shoulder, she quipped softly, "Call me pessimistic, but our hosts are all rather tall for me, wouldn't you say?"

No, his heart had not just given a small leap of triumph. He swore to Mahal it had not. Turning about fully, resting his arms on the bench before her stomach, he grinned, "Then what were you looking at?"

"Kili."

"WHAT?!" Okay, leap of triumph—though it _hadn't_ happened—was decidedly gone. Kili? Why Kili?

Giggling at how very affronted Fili had become, his face likely taking on a redder shade than hers, she continued her small lie hurriedly, "I was thinking of more ways to exact our revenge upon him…"

"Oh…"

As the discontent drained from his face and his hazel eyes found hers, Poppy felt her smile slowly fade. The inexplicably wonderful tension that had appeared on the bridge the night before had returned. It was clearly occurring to them both exactly what that revenge was for, why they were harboring irritation at Kili. Kili wasn't there this time and she doubted he would be…

When she next blinked, Poppy realized her eyes had flickered down to Fili's mouth again.

To both her great relief and great regret, he cleared his throat after a few long moments of blatantly staring at one another. Forcing a smile to his face, wondering why he'd just broken the moment like that, he produced her book, "So, you had to get a book to find out about us. Aren't you an expert on dwarves yet?"

Feeling suddenly caught, she tried to smile, "I have a lingering question I wanted to find the answer to."

She'd found the book upon dwarven culture and traditions tucked away on a small shelf in Elrond's library and had decided to see if she could discover the mystery behind everyone's reactions to her suddenly donning a braid that morning that felt like so long ago. She had the inkling that it was more important than Fili had let on and she was loath to ask one of them. He wouldn't know that, though, and instead it just looked like she was creepily reading a book on dwarves. Unfortunately, she'd fallen asleep before she could find an answer of some kind.

Was there _no_ topic of conversation that wouldn't cause her to blush in front of Fili that afternoon? Honestly!

"Why not just ask one of us?" The way he said it clearly made 'us' actually mean 'me'.

"Because," was her evasive answer.

Frowning, he pressed, "Why?"

"Because!"

"Why?"

Giggling suddenly, she rolled her eyes, "Are we really doing this? Because!"

Laughing as well, he poked her stomach, "Yes, we are. Now, why?"

"Because, and that's the end of it," she commanded with absolutely no credible authority given her laughter.

"Didn't your book say anything about how stubborn dwarves are?" Fili retaliated with a raised eyebrow and smile. "Why?"

Searching for anything to distract him, she stated suddenly upon looking beneath her bench, "Fili, you aren't wearing boots."

Laughing, allowing her to get out of their childish banter for the time being without giving him an answer, he nodded, "Aye Anna, I'd noticed given that _I_ took them off."

Giving him a sharp look at his teasing, she continued, tentatively poking one of his toes that were so much paler than the rest of him, "I've never seen any of you without shoes before. You all sleep in them and everything. You jumped into the river for me with them still on. Why don't you ever take them off?"

Shrugging as his foot twitched with each gentle poke, he replied, "We live in mountains. Rocks are sharp, so we usually prefer to keep them on. Why are my feet so very fascinating to you? It is some strange hobbit tendency?"

Ignoring his teasing, she answered with a nonchalant question of her own, "Did you know that hobbit feet are never ticklish after we learn to walk? We're outside barefoot for our entire lives, so once we're up on them, the ticklishness goes away. Yours, on the other hand," she grinned evilly as she saw the pieces beginning to come together in his head, Fili's eyes filling with horror, "have almost never seen daylight. They won't be like mine…"

"Oh no," he warned, shoving himself back from the bench and to a standing position. "Don't even think about touching my feet!"

She just continued laughing as she pushed herself up into a sitting position, smiling widely at him.

"Aren't we a little old for this?" he questioned, pulling whatever excuses from the air he could.

"Says the dwarf who just engaged in a 'why-because' fight with me," she shot back, pushing a few stray wisps of hair back.

Even as he looked from them to her, Fili knew that going for his boots was a bad idea. She was like a cat, appearing relaxed but actually coiled to spring. Something told him that he wouldn't be able to get away should he go for his boots—part of him whispered that there was nothing wrong with likely being tackled by Poppy-however, he went for them anyway.

Throwing himself to the side where his boots had ended up, he got one handful of shoe before a weight suddenly tackled him from behind, throwing his balance just enough to tumble them both to the floor.

* * *

"What in the name of Mahal is that?"

The Company, trailing after Elrohir and Elladan as they were conducted toward supper by way of the library to collect Ori, Bilbo, and Gandalf, looked at one another with confusion, also unsure of the answer to Bombur's question. It sounded almost as if someone were in pain…

Upon further listening, his hearing always having been impeccable, Bifur began huffing heavily with laughter, having to use Bilbo's shoulder for support as he heard a distant '_Poppy, not my feet!'_ that was almost immediately choked off by hysterics.

The others did not pick that much out and just continued looking at him with confusion. Their ears having picked up upon the situation, the elven brothers exchanged small smiles before Elrohir offered, "Let us see if one of those here knows."

The group followed silently, their ears straining to figure out what exactly was happening in what sounded like the upper reaches of the library. Ori and Bilbo were founded upon the first level, confused frowns upon their faces, too. Pressing forward, the next staircase was ascended, revealing Gandalf and Elrond sitting across from one another at a reading table, their respective books in hand as if they could hear nothing at all.

Looking up, Gandalf greeted with a smile, "Ah, is it dinner time already? Lord Elrond and I were so enjoying the peacefulness." Just as he said it a loud punch of laughter sliced through the air.

Eyebrow raised and arms folded in his nearly ever-present stance of suspicion, Dwalin said sarcastically, "Oh aye, it certainly appears so. What's going on up there, Gandalf?"

"Well," the wizard began, an even wider smile stretching across his face, "it would appear that the Shire is eking out yet another plea of mercy from Ered Luin, though as of yet all such queries have gone unacknowledged."

Almost universally blank looks stared back at him as a heavy leather boot with two throwing axes along the side clanked down a staircase onto the western balcony. They all looked to it, growing ever more confused, though the sound had changed. It still sounded rather pained, or at least breathless, but some of them recognized it for the laughter it was.

"Ah, it appears Ered Luin has lost one of its fortresses. I daresay there is no holding back the Shire now," Gandalf added with very clear bemusement.

Two surprised screams, one more of a feminine screech and the other a lower, breathless shout, followed soon after along with far more clanging. Sprinting out to the balcony as one, Elladan and Elrohir following with slow, long strides and amused faces, twelve dwarves and a hobbit finally discovered what all the noise was about.

Jumbled in a heap at the foot of the staircase they had just accidentally rolled down were Fili and Poppy. She had his remaining boot hugged to her chest to keep it from him, her face buried in his chest as she giggled uncontrollably, and both his arms had wrapped about her during their fall. Finally sitting up from where she'd landed on his stomach, she smiled widely down at him and raised her hands in the air, declaring triumphantly, "I win!"

Also grinning, Fili made to reach for her and begin the tickle battle again, but a voice from the audience they didn't realize they had stilled them both. "What's going on?"

Both blushing, they looked before them, Fili having to do so upside down given he was laying on his back with his bare feet still a few steps from the bottom. Neither was quite sure how to answer Thorin. Bifur's huffs of laughter increased from where he stood to the side. Smiles began appearing on many other bearded faces as well.

Stepping onto the balcony, Elrond only a few steps behind him, Gandalf replied, "Well, it appears that the Shire has prevailed. Lord Elrond, might we now head down to dinner?"

"Indeed, Lindir is likely headed this way now to fetch us. We shall save him the trip."

"Excellent, lead on."

Before the elven lord could do so, a loud, low call echoed about the valley. Weapons that were not being carried were instinctively reached for as a horn was sounded in return. Answering the anxious dwarves' queries before they were voiced, Elrond stated, a smile of relief clear in his usually stately voice, "Arwen has returned."

* * *

A/N: Well, hello there. So, I apologize that this took so very long. I come back from spring break and BAM! so much stuff (insert horrible tale of university-induced woe here). Also, my stress kind of smothered my mojo for a bit, but there is nothing like some fluff to get it back! :) This evening I'm going to try and catch up on all the reviews since Saturday, so if you end up getting more than reply, I apologize. :)

Anywho, thanks so much for reading, review if the fancy takes you, and I hope you enjoyed. :) See you Thursday!


	38. Lady Arwen's Arrival

Later that evening, when the moon had again risen, almost reaching its full crescent shape, Poppy sat about the fire with Bilbo's hat in her hands and a smirk upon her face. The day had provided much to smile about-a lovely nap, fleetingly meeting the Evenstar, and a tickle battle with Fili just to name the highlights.

Conversation was healthy though quiet, a characteristic it had acquired since reaching Rivendell. Poppy wondered if it wasn't the dwarves' unconscious fear that their hosts might overhear them. They were all still quite wary, though it was now more of an amusement to her than a worry. One of the dwarves pulling a weapon on an elf that accidentally snuck up on them was unlikely.

One topic that refused to ever truly die, however, was what caused her smile. Arwen Undómiel, the Evenstar, and all things about her had been on at least one dwarf's lips for the entire time since their meeting at sundown. Apparently, it proved harder to hate one's ancestral enemy when she was arguably the fairest being to walk the earth and she was smiling at you.

With some subtle excitement showing all three's steps, Elrond and his sons had led the Company down through the library and to the courtyard they had been welcomed in, waiting only a few moments for Fili and Poppy to right themselves and the former to pull his boots back on. Thorin's eyes had seemed to be fighting him, wishing to roll in irritation at their antics.

Their eagerness to see the elven woman so great, at times their longer stride left their followers scurrying, though even had the three completely left them behind the growing stream of elves would have directed them to the right destination. The clop of numerous horse hooves' reached their ears as the main hall was traversed, the clacking noise echoing about the buildings.

A rare smile had graced Elrond's face when he descended the stairs, his arms wide to welcome his ebony-haired and blue-eyed star of a daughter. Slowly and silently following after him, the mouths of all within the Company dropped to some extent, shock at sure pure beauty standing before them taking effect. Blinking became an unknown activity as Arwen dismounted and ran gracefully into her father's embrace, greeting him with a voice that flowed as soothingly over the ears as water did one's toes.

"_Ada, I have missed you. Grandmother sends her love._"

While there was a slight pull in her chest at Fili's attentive stare, Poppy's amusement was too great to feel real jealousy. The hobbit felt quite aware of how attractive she would seem compared to one such as Arwen. She did not have the elf's tall, slender figure accentuated by a natural grace and feet clad in leather riding boots instead of hair. Nor did she possess such clear, unfreckled skin, a sleek waterfall of hair, or seemingly perfectly proportioned features, Arwen's cheeks not turning into little apples when she smiled. Elves inhabited an entirely different realm of beauty than she did. Also, after meeting the elf's mother, she was quite aware that Arwen's beauty was found both inside and out. Poppy did not have the presence of envious mind to covet the elf's ability to steal all attention in the room.

The slight pull remained but caused her far less pain than it could have. Fili would get over it, hopefully…and if he didn't, well…

The hobbit did now allow her thoughts to go further than that, knowing in that aching part of her that while the pull was there it had no reason to exist, not really. That much she knew. Confirming her faith, Fili's eyes had darted over to her when the horses came to a proper halt, grinning brightly at her in the way he always did.

A smile had come over her face and firmly etched itself in place when her companions found themselves upon the courtyard's stones and no longer mindlessly maneuvering the stairs. Few had yet to break their stares.

They watched, seemingly wordlessly and breathlessly, as the elf embraced her brothers and gathered her belongings from her saddlebags. Turning toward the staircase, perfectly blue eyes falling upon their guests, her smile had flawlessly managed to stay in place despite some surprise. Reverting to Westron from her native tongue, the princess queried, "Who do we have the pleasure to have as guests, _Ada_?"

Taking her arm, the clearly proud and relieved father gestured toward the company, "Thorin Oakenshield and Company have graced our halls since yesterday."

Poppy couldn't help but giggle quietly at how they all perked up immediately, seeming to remember themselves when the elf inclined her head respectfully, greeting as the clear lady of the house, "Welcome. Never before have we been host to your kin, but it is an honor we shall cherish."

The sound of laughter carrying to the elf's sensitive ears, Arwen had shifted her gaze to find the source of it in the far back of the group. Upon finding the hobbit's face, a look of speechless hope washed across her calm features. Her father continued, "Meduianna arrived with them to our great pleasure."

Smile retaking command of her face in a look of happiness that rivaled her brothers', she had strode forward through the shorter beings. They had parted for her without a word as she moved, her riding dress seeming to float along with her. She had dropped to one knee before Poppy, smile widening as the hobbit returned the gesture.

Bowing her head and curtseying slightly, Poppy had greeted softly in the silence, "It is an honor to meet you, my lady."

"It is I who is honored, Meduianna. My heart has long wanted to speak with you…" Though seeming slightly apprehensive about it, Arwen had pushed past her appearance of serenity and had hugged the small being before her.

Realizing, as she had increasingly over the last twenty-four hours, that the elves held their grief just like others, though far more quietly, Poppy had gently hugged her back as all those surrounding had stared on with surprise. After a few moments in which Arwen silently collected herself and her surprise back into the image of tranquility she was, she stood with a serene smile. "Though I will retire presently, would you be willing to speak with me on the morrow, Meduianna?"

Nodding, she'd answered in Sindarin, "_Of course. I wish you pleasant rest, my lady_."

With that and a final smile to all gathered, Arwen had ascended the stairs and disappeared into the recesses of Elrond's hall, a number of attendants in her wake.

At her disappearance from sight, the Company had all regained some control of themselves, the older ones almost physically shaking themselves, wondering what had just come over them. A smirk had persisted on Poppy's face the rest of the evening through supper, the smoking of pipe weed afterward, and then the later stories about the fire. The entire time the Lady Arwen had been upon someone's words, especially her cousin's, and the fact amused her to no end.

Grinning as Bilbo mentioned how very graceful she'd been, Poppy commented teasingly, "She's a few hundred years too old for you, Bilbo. Cerulean Bolger's three extra years have nothing on Lady Arwen."

Blushing bright red, he protested stutteringly, "I-I know that! That-That wasn't my…point."

Enjoying the opportunity to get him back for embarrassing her that morning, she nodded with feigned understanding as the others chuckled, "Oh, I _do_ believe you, my dear cousin. You've only been praising her hair for the last hour because you wish to be friends."

Glaring at her as she broke down laughing at the shade of red he'd gone, he forcefully threw his book in her direction. Still giggling, she easily dodged it. Bifur also huffing with laughter beside her, she returned to working upon Bilbo's hat as he sulked, the others picking up with the teasing where she left off, though none of them had any real right to.

After a few moments of jovial teasing, laughter, and the beginning of Bofur's nightly tale, they were all suddenly hushed for what felt like the umpteenth time that evening. Standing in the doorway was a fair-haired elf, his hands clasped before him and his head bowed when he asked in the lilting accent his people had, "May I have a moment, Meduianna?"

Holding back the groan at having to again rise, the hobbit nodded with a smile, "Of course."

She pushed herself up from the floor and followed the taller being outside to a nearby bench overlooking the river. The group watched as she spoke with the elf, the moonlight allowing them sight but the distance negating their hearing. As they had during the last sixteen elves' short visits with their hobbit, they sat in silence, warily watching to ensure nothing happened to her.

When the elf had retreated with a bowed head and what appeared to be an incredibly awkward hug and Poppy had shuffled tiredly back to her spot, Ori queried, frowning slightly as his thoughtful expression came over his face. "What do they all want?"

Smiling, taking her task back into her hands as she leaned against the wall, propping her feet up on Fili's thighs where he laid beside her, Poppy answered, "They all have someone who has crossed the sea without them. They wanted to know how their loved ones were when I saw them."

Frowning more heavily as he oiled his bow, Kili asked with exasperation, "But why does it matter? They _choose_ to leave. It's not as if it's unexpected."

A murmur of agreement swept through them and Poppy supposed it made sense that they did not understand. She had not at first, either, not having such an option available to her as the elves did. In all honesty, she was unsure how to convey the correct perspective to them. Experience had given her hers.

Fili watched with interest as her face became pensive, her work lying forgotten in her hands. She didn't know it, but she was really adorably cute when she had on her thinking face and he found himself smiling widely. While the Lady Arwen earlier had been incredibly beautiful—even as an elf he and his kin had recognized her fairness—he hadn't remained as enthralled as he thought he would be. She held a cold, distant kind of beauty, like a statue. He did not know her, of her likes and dislikes or what gave her joy in the world. She was just beautiful to him, nothing more.

Poppy, he realized as her cute thinking face made a warmth rise in his chest, was far more than just beautiful.

Distracting him from his thoughts came her voice, soft with strong elements of her original shyness within it, "Kili, do you know exactly how your father died?"

Dark eyes bewildered, the young dwarf's head turned so quickly toward her that he almost dropped his bow. "How do you know that he died…?" Even as he asked, the answer became clear as his mind caught up.

"Fili told me." Smiling in an attempt to lighten the mood some, she added, "I know lots about you, like how you refused to eat vegetables until you were seven, slipping them to your dog so your mother didn't find out."

Mouth agape as the others chuckled, Kili turned on his brother who was doubling as her footrest, "_Why_? Why must you tell her these things?!"

Saving the grinning Fili from answering, Poppy cut in, "Because he does. Anyway, do you know how he died?"

"Well yes," he replied with a slight cough, as if trying to hide any emotion that had crept into it. "He died in battle, fighting orcs who came down from the north."

"Do you know how he was in his last moments?" she pressed, her stomach turning slightly at the discomfort she was causing all of them as their faces clearly showed. Thorin looked far less than happy… "Do you know if he was peaceful with his injuries or in pain? Did he knowingly meet his death or was he taken by surprise?"

Voice hard as the steel of his axes, Dwalin replied curtly, his eyes flaring with anger, "He was cut down fighting, taking many orcs with him as he died with our battle cry on his lips. I was there, lass, so just what in the ruddy world are you getting at?"

Holding up her hands in a placating gesture, she explained, "I just mean that it's comforting knowing how your loved ones spent their last moments. Not having to imagine gives one closure. That's what those elves want. I was there when their loved ones were in the final days of their journey. They just want to know that the ones who passed on were content and happy with their decisions, that they were at peace with leaving…"

Four more elves requested audiences with Poppy before the fire burned itself down to the embers, one of Bofur's tales greatly livening up the mood after her short explanation.

Putting Bilbo's hat away when sleep began to weigh upon her eyelids, she curled up beneath her summer cloak upon one of the many pillows that had been found scattered about the guest house during the course of the day. In the growing dimness, she watched the fire play across the faces of her companions, Fili still beside her as he puffed upon his pipe. He had pushed himself up to sit next to her pillow as Bifur sat silently by her feet.

Blinking against growing weariness, she realized with no small amount of sadness that there would again be no watch that night. She wouldn't get her hour with Fili in the darkness when it felt distinctly as if they were the only two on earth. She was probably being silly, but she'd become rather attached to the feeling. Keeping her sigh of disappointment inside, she bid them all good night before allowing her eyes to close.

Fili watched as she dozed between awake and asleep for a few moments, waiting for the tell-tale twitch of her nose that indicated she was fully asleep. It hadn't yet come when he made to rise to join Kili and his uncle on the other side of the fire, his blankets and sleep waiting for him. Looking around to see that all but Bifur had already laid down, shifting about to get comfortable under their blankets, the dwarf smiled.

Right upon the edge of sleep, Poppy swore she felt the press of lips and the gentle scratch of a beard against her temple and the whispered words, "You're far lovelier than she is, Anna."

She was asleep before she could force her eyes open to see if it had just been a dream.

* * *

A/N: Good evening! So, technically it's 3 minutes into Friday where I live, but I blame school and Daylight Savings Time. :) Not a terrible lot happened in this one, but we're getting to some fun stuff in the next few, that I promise. :) Thanks for all your lovely reviews-I'll answer them tomorrow morning-and to all you guests that I can't personally thank. So, thank you all so much for reading, review if you wish, and I hope you enjoyed. :) See you Saturday.


	39. Help

Morning in Rivendell dawned like no other place Poppy had ever seen. Knees on her pillow to give her some height, she rested her arms on the window sill and watched as the world woke up with such a beautiful, bright glow of sun that she thought she'd forgotten how to breathe. Light came to life from the east, bathing the cliffs and the water that ran over them in a golden wave.

She wondered what the world had done long ago when it had not been the sun and the moon to give light but the Two Trees of Valinor far in the west. Had there just not been a sunrise? Though the destruction of the trees was cause for sadness, she was still grateful that dawn existed because of the golden tree's fruit. Without it, her favorite part of the day would be gone.

"_I did not know you to be an early riser, Meduianna_."

Starting with slight surprise, not having heard the elf approach, Poppy's eyes snapped up to find Arwen's looking back at her, a smile on her face. Smiling in return, the hobbit whispered in reply, "_I did not know your sunrises to be so beautiful. Also, I get my alone time when I can, my lady. Few of my companions are so inclined."_

She was teasing and they both knew it as she gazed back affectionately at the group of dwarves scattered about in various positions of sleep, most snoring as always. If one took away theirs beards, one could almost believe they were all again Kili's age.

"_I will tell them where I am going and then I am all yours." _As the elf inclined her head in acknowledgement, Poppy crawled off her pillow and gently shook Bifur awake.

He jolted to consciousness, hand going for his glaive before his eyes were completely open, defending someone from danger clearly on his mind in his pre-wakeful moments. Having noticed this in her companions, Poppy had subtly placed her foot on his weapon's hilt before touching him at all. As soon as his green eyes had opened the worry on his face disintegrated. Smiling slightly, rubbing a hand down his face, he grunted a good morning to her.

Smiling in return, she silently nodded toward the elf on the other side of the wall, her beautiful face and long hair visible in the morning sunlight. Understanding what the lass was silently telling him, the warrior nodded and grunted an acquiescing sound before rolling back over. Laughing lightly, she pushed herself up and hopped gently and silently over the remainder of her companions that lay between her and the door.

Stepping out into the light of the gorgeous morning, Poppy smiled to herself. While she had no doubt that the remainder of their quest wouldn't provide such restful ways to not sleep in in the morning, she would take advantage of them while they presented themselves.

She and Arwen walked in companionable though pensive silence, the taller being leading the way over stone walkways and through gardens that the hobbit hadn't noticed before. After padding about for a long while, the ground beneath her bare toes warming as the morning trudged on, Poppy noticed that they had twice passed a small, secluded memorial hidden among a grove of trees. The stone statue within was of a woman, tears running down her face, though she wasn't close enough to read who she was. Whatever the mystery shrine's purpose, it appeared that the Evenstar was leading them in circles. At the serene look of contemplation that she had the feeling was not so tranquil beneath the beautiful features, she could guess what topic was on the elven maiden's mind.

Finally, as Poppy was admiring a small patch of lilies next to the path they walked on, Arwen finally voiced the thought that had been plaguing her all morning, "What was she like? What was she like when she left…?"

Elrond had asked her much the same the day before and it had taken Poppy a few moments to come up with the correct description. Celebrian had been many things when they met and Poppy hadn't really been in the best frame of mind to ponder all of them. Looking up at the elf when she stopped in the middle of a pathway near what sounded like the forges, she answered, "Tired... She was very tired."

Arwen sank down onto a bench, her hands folded in her lap as she gazed at the ground at the hobbit's feet. Pushing her long hair behind her ear in what appeared to be a somewhat nervous habit, she explained quietly, "I was not able to see her before she departed. When she was on her way to visit Lothlórien, she was also on her way to visit me. I did not return in time to say goodbye."

"She regretted that," Poppy offered just as quietly. Though initially her intention of being quiet was to discourage conversation, she had discovered over the years that her silence often found her learning much about those who spoke to her. Elves were a people who appreciated quiet consolation.

Adding further, she continued, "She spoke of you all the time. She was your mother; she missed you."

"Then why did she leave so quickly?" From another, Poppy would have thought there was bitterness in the elf's question, but there appeared to be only curiosity, a genuine desire to understand her mother's motivations.

Sitting down on the other end of the bench, the hobbit answered, "She couldn't sleep anymore. Nightmares plagued her and she couldn't make them stop. She believed the sea would free her from them. I think part of her knew you would be all right without her, too. I never knew if it was mother's intuition or foresight, but she said multiple times that she'd seen you being happy, finding love of some kind."

Arwen fell silent for another length of time, the ring of hammer on anvil beginning as the elven blacksmith arrived to his work in the background. Again accepting the quiet companionship, believing the daughter needed some time to think things through instead of talk about them, Poppy began fiddling with the end of her braid, again marveling at how strong it remained. It had withstood trolls, a chase by an orc pack, multiple naps, and a tickle battle just the afternoon before. She wondered how many _years_ some of the dwarves' braids had been in place if they all boasted workmanship like Fili's.

It reminded her of him in a way. Its strength was steady, its presence constant. Her braid wasn't something she had to worry about leaving or breaking, no matter what abuse she put it through. Her friend was much the same, though instead of abuse she tended to subject him to her emotional breakdowns and whatnot.

Some place in her chest smiled at the thought—as it _always_ did when his face entered her mind—wondering if the words she'd heard the night before had just been her active imagination dreaming him saying what some hidden part of her wanted to hear or not. While she still wasn't quite sure what exactly her chest kept trying to tell her about how she felt about him, even the illusion of such a sentiment made her face split into a ridiculous, glowing grin.

Finally, after the sun had fully risen into the sky, Arwen turned to her, a smile again on her face. "Thank you for your time, Meduianna."

"I barely did anything, but you're welcome."

Before Arwen could protest to that with more than a grateful squeeze of the hand, two elegant yet boisterous voices reached their ears, a crowd of heavy footsteps following behind them. Each picking a name, the two elves leading the pack called out to them. "Arwen!" "Meduianna!"

The two women looked up to see the elf's brothers striding toward them, a good portion of the Company in their wake.

"_Brothers!"_ Arwen greeted in their own tongue. "_How unusual for you to be up before noon. I daresay you gained some good habits in my absence."_

Both raising eyebrows in wry amusement, Elladan was the one to reply, "It's now after noon, dear sister, so you cannot accuse us of becoming too respectable."

Frowning, the elf looked upward to the sky, just noticing how very long she had been sitting in quiet contemplation. "Is it really?"

Snickering subtly, Elrohir queried lightly, "Daydreaming the day away again, sister?"

Smiling as Arwen sent her brothers a look that was quite different than the one of constant tranquility everyone expected, Poppy slipped down off the bench. She saw many of the dwarves with wondrous expressions exactly like the ones they had sported upon first meeting the elf maiden. Laughing lightly, she exchanged a grin with Fili once seeing that his eyes were upon her before heading off any sibling arguments that might arise, "What brings you to us, Elladan and Elrohir? Is there some reason you have for interrupting our daydreaming?"

Her voice seemed to shake her companions from their reveries, blushes coming over a few faces beneath beards, Ori's in particular. The hobbit noted that many of the elder dwarves were not present, notably Thorin, Dwalin, Gloin, and Dori. Oddly enough, Balin was with them.

Answering her question, ignoring his sister's pointed stare, Elladan replied, "Interrupting such important thoughts were indeed not our first intention. Actually, we were on our way to leave Masters Bilbo, Ori, and Balin at the library. Mithrandir mentioned hoping he could have their assistance today. The rest of our guests were following us to the river. Master Bofur had the brilliant idea of taking an afternoon of fishing."

"However," Elrohir picked up from there, smirks appearing on all faces almost simultaneously in a way she did not like in the slightest, "on our way we were flagged down by the smith. He has finished with your staff and we thought it only courteous to return it to you."

"_No_," Poppy deadpanned immediately, the dwarves clearly understanding that particular word in Elvish.

Looking from the large group of males to the hobbit at her side, Arwen asked with confusion, "What is happening? What have you two done to Meduianna now?"

Frown covering her face, a distinctly maternal look of irritation in her eyes, she answered before those in question had the chance, "They wish to embarrass me in front of everyone by seeing what tiny amount of skill I possess with my staff. As good of teachers as Bifur and Oin are, this pupil is far below the normal learning curve."

The first dwarf grunted in harsh disagreement with that, though she only smiled in response. Oin shook his head, "You'd do fine, lass."

"Oh come on, Poppy," Kili urged, smile on his face above his crossed arms. "You've taken out both Bombur and Fili, and everyone knows that dwarves are better fighters than elves…"

The good-natured teasing was taken by all for what it was miraculously, instead of the ill-tempered insult it would have been just a few days prior. Breaking through the dwarves' and her brothers' laughter, Arwen silenced them all with her words, a wry smirk of her own on her face. "I will do you one better, brothers. If you two so wish to see her skill, then you might as well be up against it."

Frowning as they took in the expression on her face, the slyness of her smirk, the brothers sidled rather uncomfortably. Their sister and Meduianna had one thing in common: they both got you back in the most unexpected and inescapable of ways…

Turning to her companion, the elf asked lightly, "Meduianna, I have a proposition. Given my brothers have the focus of hounds on a deer and it appears your companions do as well, let us give them what they want. You and I can spar with one of my brothers and one of your companions."

Feeling that the elf maiden knew something she did not, Poppy responded before the two brothers could get the words of protest out of their mouths, "I could do that."

"Excellent! Let's go prepare. Elrohir, be a darling and make sure you bring Meduianna's staff. We'll meet you there in a half hour or so." Waving to the crowd of rather speechless males in farewell, Arwen led a smiling Poppy down the path and toward the main house.

Left staring after them, Elladan and Elrohir finally groaned, breaking the silence. "That did not go as planned…"

"Why exactly?" Kili asked what they were all wondering.

"Because," Elrohir explained, absently twirling Poppy's staff in his hands, "our sister has had many centuries to become an accomplished swordswoman. It's a bit of a secret hobby of hers. We are more archers…" The silence implication was that she had sat them both upon their backs a number of times.

Summoning up some excitement, Elladan asked, "So, who wants to be the other half of this partnership?"

Eyes immediately all went to Fili, but he forcefully protested, "Oh no, I've done that once. You got her into this. One of you can do it."

Perhaps the lass had finished with her revenge upon the youngest of Durin's line, but one of the dwarves had not, having had an inkling of what yesterday's archery display had been about. Smirk upon his face as he leaned against his glaive, Bifur barked out into the quiet that followed, "_Kili_. _It's you, lad."_

Huffing a sigh, the dwarf rolled his eyes, "Fine."

* * *

"_If I might ask, my lady, why did you suggest this?"_ Poppy asked expectantly as she stood on Arwen's balcony, gazing over the valley.

Emerging from behind a changing screen, the elf answered, "_I have learned how to handle a sword since my brothers first picked up theirs. Skill with a bow was never my forte, but a sword has long been a source of release for me…and they both know it. Between us I believe we can surprise them._"

Then donning a pair of leggings and a long dark purple tunic in the favored style of the elves, she sat upon a chair next to where the hobbit was leaning against the balcony and began braiding back her flowing hair.

"_I really do not have much skill. I've only just begun to learn properly_."

Arwen shrugged, "_Bifur and Oin seemed to believe in you. It shall be fun, that I promise._" Smiling broadly in a way that radiated joy from beneath the serenity, she grabbed the hobbit's hand, _"Come on. Our victory awaits._"

Grabbing a sword and scabbard on their way out, the two women strode from the room, the hobbit jogging slightly to keep up with the elf's long strides. Odd sparring partners they would be, but somehow, Poppy was looking forward to it.

* * *

Smiling widely, Arwen greeted her brothers and the dwarven spectators when she and her partner padded down the steps to the training ground, "Are you ready?"

"Of course, sister," Elladan answered rather tersely, stepping forward with a curved sword in hand.

Unsheathing hers, Arwen followed suit, spinning the hilt in her hand a few times before transferring it to her other hand and repeating the process. The dwarves all stared in shock that the graceful, beautiful being had such a talent. Their surprise seemed to make her smile wider.

As Kili stepped forward, his sword in hand, Poppy was beginning to feel rather less elated at the prospect. Taking her staff from Elrohir's hands, Bifur stepped forward and handed it to her, saying with a smirk, "_Breathe."_

Laughing lightly, she did as he suggested, noting with amusing that 'breathe' was the only Khuzdul word she actually knew aside from a curse. Taking her staff's full weight from her tutor's hand, she made to step forward also as the others scurried to sit upon the wall she had taken up residence on the day before. Before she could, however, she froze in place, frowning.

"Something's different."

"What do you mean?" Kili asked. "It's your staff."

Spinning it a few times, staring intently at it, she said distractedly, "Well yes I know, but…but something's different about it. I can tell." Looking up, she saw smirks on both twins' faces. Eyes questioning, she held their gazes, switching from one to the other. "_What is different?_"

Answering in Westron, Elladan replied, "The smith made some improvements. I believe he wished to make it more durable."

Weighing the weapon she had carried for many years in one hand, she continued to look at it. The length had not changed, neither had the weight. The various dents and teeth marks were still there, along with the number of small, amateur carvings she had made. Something about it just felt…stronger.

Wary, she stepped forward beside Arwen, keeping an eye on Kili with her periphery as she continued staring, searching for a change.

With little warning, Elladan struck forward, feinting at his sister in an attempt to take her off guard. His ploy proved in vain when Arwen gracefully and easily sidestepped him, smacking his upper arm with the flat of her blade. The brother glaring at her, they began a fast, elegant dance of blades and light steps that was clearly being dominated by Arwen.

As soon as Elladan lashed out, Kili followed suit, swinging down at Poppy with all his force, just as Oin often did. Eyes snapping up and focusing on her target, she ducked as the same moment that she moved to the side, grasping her staff in a defensive stance. Following her and striking at her quickly, Kili brought his sword around toward her right side.

Having no time to jump out of the way, Poppy caught his blade with the center of her staff, wincing preemptively as she expected a large cut to appear in the wood. Instead, with a hollow ring, his sword was deflected right off, his momentum propelling him farther than he planned. As Kili stumbled a step, Poppy missed her chance to strike back because she was too busy staring in wonder at her staff. There wasn't even a scratch!

Durable indeed. The smiths had somehow strengthened the wood with their long-held techniques. Though just as light as it had always been, thought admittedly heavy for a walking stick, her dark little staff had gained the durability of Oin's iron one.

Righting himself without noticing, Kili rounded upon her, beginning to hack away at her with fast, deadly precision. Sidestepping and deflecting every blow as she had been taught, hardly any recoil traveling up the weapon to her usually tired biceps, Poppy let herself be forced back, small step by small step, toward the elves' ongoing fight.

The fight was reaching the length of half an hour when the shorter pair were within striking distance of the always moving elves. Seeing their approach, Arwen quickly shouted, "_Elladan's left!"_

Understanding her partner's intent, Poppy kicked out at Kili's knee, throwing his balance for a few seconds. Whirling about, she quickly swung her staff to the back of the elf's knees as his sister kept his attention busy with her flashing sword. With a surprised shout, Elladan found himself upon the ground and Kili had a smiling elf's curved blade in his face.

He had no choice but to reluctantly drop his sword. It clanged to the ground with a sad kind of finality, as if just as reluctant to admit defeat as its wielder.

Cheers arose from the spectators. Still smiling, Arwen held her brother to his feet. "Are you satisfied with Meduianna's skill now, brother?"

Laughing, rubbing the back of his knees, Elladan nodded, "Indeed. We shall press you no longer, Meduianna. Are you happy with the improvements to your staff? I could certainly feel them."

Still looking at it with wonder, she queried as the others gathered around, "What did they do to it? How did they make it stronger?"

Taking the weapon in his hands, Balin looked more carefully at the staff. Voice also rather awed, he explained, "There have long been techniques in strengthening wood with fire and certain usually secret substances. It is a tricky process given the smith must be wary of catching it aflame, but it can be done. It appears our host's smith has such skill. I haven't seen it done in many years, let alone by an elf. Your staff is so dark to begin with that the fire's effects can't be seen."

Inclining his head in acknowledgement of the comment, Elrohir added, "Our people have long been better with wood than metal, Master Balin. Our smith has a knack for it and our father wished Meduianna to have a stronger weapon for adventuring in the wild."

"You'll have to thank him, lass," Balin declared with a smile as he handed her possession back.

"I will," she whispered, still clearly fascinated.

"Well," Bombur suggested, "that was fun. Can we fish now?"

Laughing at the dwarf's ever-present appetite, Elladan nodded, "Of course. We'll finally get Masters Bilbo, Ori, and Balin to the library like Gandalf wanted. Will you ladies be joining us in our endeavours?"

Smiling, her usual face of calm returned, Arwen shook her head, "We shall find you later."

Inclining their heads in acceptance, the brothers strode forward in the lead. The dwarves and Bilbo all waved back at Poppy, a certain blonde dwarf grinning brightly at her over his shoulder.

Pulling her thoughts from the blush that had appeared on her cheeks, the elf grasped the hobbit's shoulder, "Here, I can show you to the baths. I daresay you would appreciate one. We can also wash your clothes."

Smiling, Poppy nodded gratefully, "That would be lovely!"

* * *

Fiddling with the floaty fabric of her borrowed dress, Poppy stared up at the clouds in the summer sky, arguing with herself.

She had been lying on the ground for who knew how long, still sweaty and in need of a bath. After bidding the boys all farewell, Arwen and she had returned to the guest house where she gathered her few extra clothes and the elf had then led her to her own room. With the help of a few attendants, the Evenstar had found an appropriately-sized dress for the hobbit to wear as her clothes were washed. The small pink garment must have originally been for a very young elven child, because its hem reached down only to Poppy's ankles. The sleeveless number was also surprisingly loose given Poppy no longer had the figure of a child. Aside from the color, she really couldn't complain.

The dress was not her problem. No, not at all. While Bilbo would likely laugh himself silly if he saw her in it, it was comfortable and she appreciated her clothes being cleaned.

It was the bath that was giving her troubles.

After sending her clothes off, Arwen had led her down number flights of stairs to what felt like the very lowest level of Rivendell, its edge leading straight to the river. Foregoing that, much to Poppy's relief, the elf had instead turned toward the waterfalls along the cliffs. Padding along grass-covered rocks, they had come to the edge of the valley where numerous pools had formed, thick brush having been planted around all of them, extra walls around those. With the small woods full of leafed trees to shield it, no one from Rivendell could see down over the bushes either. The elves had created natural showers for themselves.

Handing the hobbit a towel to dry herself with, Arwen had gestured toward one of them, "Once you pull the curtain across the break in the wall, no one will disturb you. There should be soaps and oils within. The water is always warm when the sun is out."

Appreciating the elf's help, Poppy returned her smile, "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome. I shall leave you in peace." Retreating up the stairs, Arwen had disappeared, leaving the hobbit to her privacy.

For that, Poppy had been very thankful. Hobbits were distinctly private about their bathing habits and, even living out in a forest, Poppy had only ever had the occasional bird or rabbit as an onlooker, neither of which she minded. That had been where the good things ended, however.

Stepping forward, towel in hand, she had entered the bath, pulling the curtain behind her. The problem was, the pools all drained into the river. Beneath the rocks and walls around them, they flowed on down into the valley. They each had a current swirling through it at one's feet.

Poppy did _not_ do currents.

And so, she found herself lying in the middle of the path on a rock next to the large stream the baths all emptied into that flowed on toward the river with unpleasant memories trying to fill her head despite her best efforts, staring up at the sky …not bathing.

"Poppy, what are you doing?"

Jumping in surprise, she blinked her eyes down to see Fili and Kili staring at her. The latter looked confused, though the former just smiled at her, the sight of her in a dress pleasantly surprising. Groaning, covering her eyes with her arms, she mumbled, "Taking a bath."

Snorting, Kili laughed, "You realize you need water for that."

When she did not answer his teasing with even a smile, Fili knelt down beside her, worry growing. Taking in the way she trembled slightly, he began to understand. They had used those baths only the day before. Gently reaching forward and pulling her arms down, he asked, "There's a current, isn't there?"

Sighing heavily, she nodded without looking at him.

Understanding then, Kili frowned, "Why didn't you just ask them to draw you a bath?"

Her voice was a whisper when she replied, "I don't want to put them out."

A horribly temping idea coming to mind, he tightened his grip on her hands and pulled her up. Though apprehension was still firmly etched on her face, she smiled ever so slightly at the gesture. As stubborn as she was, Poppy would never ask their hosts to do something especially for her. It would embarrass her if they did it for her. Instead, in a fortuitous joining of practical and fantastic, a solution had presented itself in his mind.

"What if," he queried gently, catching and holding her gaze, "I made sure the current didn't take you? What if there was no possible way you would go under unexpectedly, no way anything could happen to you, no way the water could hurt you. What if I held you above it. Would you be all right?"

Her mind froze for a long moment, taking in what he was offering. A small part of was yelling about inappropriateness, the rest of her really just wanted a warm bath. No matter what other odd things her mind was saying, that aching part of her knew she needed the help, the support would help and not just with getting a bath. She needed to confront the water, one small little pool at a time. Opening her eyes after they had closed with a deep intake of breath, she nodded slowly.

Voice trusting, she whispered, "Okay."

Grinning suddenly in an attempt to brighten her mood, he nodded, "It's settled then. Come on." Squeezing her hand, he grabbed her towel and pulled her forward.

Completely bewildered, Kili suddenly caught up, "Wait, wait, wait! What on earth are you doing?"

Rolling his eyes, Fili shrugged as he pulled his boots off in the entrance to the empty bath, "Calm down, Kili. She's too stubborn to ask for a bath and she needs one."

Chuckling nervously, she smacked his arm, "Are you saying I smell?" He grinned brightly at her in response and she hit him again, blushing but already grateful for the effort to help her.

Stuttering, Kili protested, "This-This will _not _go over well."

"Kili, she's going to leave her dress on and I'm going to leave my pants on. It'll be like swimming. Will you calm down, pull your mind from the gutter, and just keep watch? Go fish like we're supposed to," Fili suggested as he pulled his blue tunic over his head.

Poppy promptly went bright red and began taking extreme notice of the surroundings not in his direction. Her stomach and chest, for all that they disliked water, had abruptly turned from fear to that incredibly warm feeling she got when Fili's shirt had left him.

"_Since when am I the responsible one?" _Kili demanded in Khuzdul, head still whirling at how this had happened. Fili had a point, Poppy needed the help because she certainly wasn't going to ask for it, but Thorin was still not going to like it if he found out.

Eyes narrowing into a glare, Fili replied in a voice that punctuated each word, "_It will help her. Besides… you owe me_."

Knowing it to be the truth, along with knowing that whatever one might think his brother was honestly only doing such a thing with the intention of helping the hobbit, Kili groaned. He had no argument remaining. Trudging over to where the path to the baths wound through the forest beside the river, he shot back, "_No snogging_."

"_Shut up and watch for people_."

* * *

A/N: Well hello there everyone. So, I've finally gotten a chapter to a decent length, hooray! Also, as most of you have probably noticed, I'm having trouble keeping to my every other day schedule. School has really picked up since spring break ended and I just can't keep up with everything and have it all be of good quality, therefore, much to my chagrin, I must apologize and declare that I'll now be on an every third day schedule. Hopefully that will alleviate some stress.

On other notes, yay fun times! Some swimming is always a good time, if you're Poppy not quite so much, but we'll see how she does. May I just thank you all now for your lovely reviews. Also, as always, thanks so much for reading, review if the desire takes you, and I hope you enjoyed. See you Wednesday! :)


	40. Overflow

Arms crossed protectively across her chest, Poppy stared at the deceivingly calm water before her. With the shower of droplets coming from above, it was hard to notice the movement of the water below the surface, the current that had no other desire but to pull her under and never let her go.

At least, that's what her fear was insisting.

Beside her, after bunching his shirt and boots into a pile on the edge of the water beside where he set her towel and rolling his pants up to his knees, Fili looked her way, seeing the apprehension settle deep in her eyes. Voice gentle, he whispered while taking her arm, "Come on. It'll be okay."

There were no stairs to gradually lead one into the water, though with as tall as the elves were, Fili doubted they had any trouble. The water would only come up to their upper stomach, if that. On Poppy, that was decidedly higher. Slowly, he pulled her to sit beside him on the edge. At first, she kept her feet hidden beneath her pink skirt, not getting a toe remotely close to the water. Scooting closer, seeming to forcibly ignore that he was shirtless with all the muscular proof that he was a warrior clear to see, she leaned against him, resting her temple on his shoulder.

Sitting with his own feet in the water, he wrapped an arm around her, noting that it was pleasantly odd to actually feel her arm under his hand instead of her shirt sleeve. Even without that feeling, he would've given her all the time she needed. He had all afternoon should she need it. He watched as she let out a deep breath after a few long moments before shifting her feet, hesitantly, tentatively slipping them into the water.

Poppy watched the clear, clean water slosh about her feet as she slowly moved them in little circles. Once upon a time, she'd done that often, water not causing her a care in the world. Smiling slightly, though without daring a glance at how very bare Fili's chest was—it was apparent enough to her with how very wonderfully warm it was—lest she start blushing again, she commented, "I used to do this all the time. My mother and I used to go swimming in a pond near our house. We'd try and catch the little frogs that lived in it to feel how slimy they were."

"There are pools under the Blue Mountains. Kili and I always tried to catch the fish in them when we were little," he offered, the smile clear in his voice.

Sighing, she commented after a short silence, "I should probably get in, shouldn't I."

His chuckle at the irritated resignation in her voice brought her eyes up to meet his. Pulling her toward him and kissing the top of her head, he replied, "You should do whatever you want. We have time."

At the feeling of so very much of her being pressed against his warm, muscled, amazing chest, she felt not only her face go a bright red but her heart decide that it was going to beat quickly because of more than just her fear. It was an incredibly odd contradiction as her body couldn't decide if its dislike of the water or its decided like of shirtless, soon-to-be wet Fili was more important. Seeing the smile on his face and the affection in those hazel eyes, that aching part of her decided to actively focus on the latter.

Knowing her blush was very obvious and likely deepening, she looked shyly up at him, sounding like a four-year-old, "Will you go in first?"

The dwarf nodded, "Aye. Then I'll help you in." Turning, he held himself up by his arms as he lowered himself into the water. In that particular pool, the water came up to his chest. They had given Poppy one of the shallower ones it seemed, for which he was silently grateful. Looking back up at her and seeing a wide-eyed expression, he frowned, "Are you sure you're ready."

Mentally shaking herself from looking at his arms when his muscles flexed, Poppy's eyes darted up to his. Face still bright red, she nodded without a sound. Reluctantly moving herself closer to the edge and squeezing her eyes shut, she felt him pick her up by the waist and the water immediately begin to climb up her legs.

It had reached her stomach and she could feel the current on her feet before her brain began to violently protest. Biting her lip to keep in a scared whimper, she clutched at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. She refused to open her eyes as she buried her face in his neck.

Without looking, she felt two warm arms wrap around her middle, the heat easily passing through the light fabric of her dress. Before she could comprehend another thought—fear and a not unpleasant churning in her stomach taking up most of her brain power—his voice reached her ears. "You're okay, Anna. I'm not letting you go."

Shivers and a rush of relief running up her spine, she let out a few deep breaths. She didn't notice the goose bumps her breath caused as she brought her face out from its hiding place. Not opening her eyes quite yet, she leaned forward slightly, resting her forehead upon his broader one as she tried to get used to the water. It was surprisingly warm, just as Arwen had said.

When she did finally open her eyes, his solid arms around her helping immensely in quieting the screaming in her head, she found her face incredibly closer to Fili's than she'd realized. Their noses touching, she was mere centimeters from him. She could see a new light in his eyes, one she hadn't noticed before except that night on the bridge right before Kili had appeared and when she had woken up from her nap the day before. Staring back at him, her stomach doing churning, rebellious things that drowned out her mind, she was paralyzed. All she could consciously do besides lose herself in that hazel gaze was breathe and that was causing her some trouble.

Smiling suddenly, Fili tightened his hold on her, asking with a grin, "Feel better?"

Voice unexpectedly breathless, she nodded as she felt heat rise from her stomach all the way up to her face, "Yes…a bit."

"Do you want to go under?" While her voice was quite obviously affected, Fili was incredibly surprise that he'd managed to keep his level. He suddenly wondered if this was such a good idea. She hadn't even started actually bathing yet and he constantly had to try and shove down the roaring in his chest. That roaring was all but vocally shouting at him to kiss her, just close those last few millimeters and find out what it felt like, if his imagination was doing it any justice whatsoever. He had the nagging feeling that any kissing he'd done before—namely the smith's daughter that Kili had been caught with but he had not—would be pale and hollow in comparison if just being close to the hobbit was doing all that it was.

Pulling him from his thoughts, she nodded after pulling her face back slightly, "I think so. Just let me take my braid out."

Slowly unwrapping her legs from about his stomach—doing incredibly intense things to that stomach—she held onto his neck until he'd shifted his hold on her, keeping her to his side instead of his chest. Eyes closing again as the water came up to her shoulders, it took her a moment to get her bearings. Smiling embarrassedly up at him, she apologized as she pulled her braid over her shoulder, "I'm sorry I'm so slow."

Squeezing her side, Fili shook his head, "I'm in no hurry, Anna." He watched as her fingers stumblingly freed her hair from its binding and her curls exploded about her.

Voice quiet, Poppy began to speak as her hands worked, needing something to distract her from the moving water about her feet—Fili's chest was _not _going to be helpful at the moment. "So is everyone fishing this afternoon?"

"Mostly," he replied. "Gandalf is having Bilbo, Ori, and Balin help him with something in the library. I'm not sure what Thorin and Dwalin are doing." As she nodded but didn't continue, a slight fear creeping back into her eyes, he continued, "How did things go with uncle yesterday anyway?"

Fili mentally kicked himself. He was holding Poppy in his arms in a bath and he was talking about his _uncle_! _Really_?!

It seemed to help, however, as she relaxed again at knowing what to say, finding a safe topic, "He apologized in his own way. We made a compromise. I tell him whenever I notice some kind of danger and he gets to continue telling me to go home, though he promised never to send me away." Grinning up at him as she shook her hair out slightly, she added, "You're stuck with me until we get to Erebor, defeat a dragon, and I make sure Bilbo gets back to Bag End in one, not-incinerated piece."

A similar smile lit up his face, "Good."

They smiled at one another for a few moments as they always did before she turned away and grabbed one of the oils that sat upon the edge of the pool. Presuming it was acceptable for her hair, she brought the bottle filled with red liquid and smelled it. "Roses."

Groaning, she complained without much irritation while motioning to her pink dress with the bottle of rose oil, "Not only am I going to _look_ like a flower, but I'm going to smell like one, too."

Fili snorted, "You realize your _name_ is a flower, don't you."

Bristling as he laughed at her, she grinned back as she gently smacked his chest, "You hush."

Still chuckling, he adjusted his hold and brought her back to his chest. Though he could see the blush rising on her cheeks, she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face to his skin. At her nod, he lowered them both into the water.

As panic began to rise up, threatening to take over as water surrounded her on all sides, her dress being swayed by the current, Poppy held Fili tighter. She could do this. She could keep her head. He wasn't letting her go. Before her fear had a chance to dig in its claws, the dwarf had brought them back above the surface.

She took in deep gasping breaths once there, her arms trembling. Only vaguely feeling his blonde chest hair against her cheek, she refused to pull away. She hid in his embrace until her chest stopped heaving.

Looking down at her with concern, he suggested, "Maybe we shouldn't do that anymore."

Shaking her head, determined to at least get through taking a bath, she said shakily, her words shorter and far more stunted than they could have been, "No, it's fine. I'll be fine. I can do this."

Noting the stubborn resolve in her voice and smiling slightly because of it, he just nodded, running a hand comfortingly up and down her back. It took her a few more moments, but she got control of herself once again. It was then that she fully realized her face was pressed into his chest. Yes, she'd sobbed all over him before, she'd buried her face there before. However, that chest being bare and showing just how muscled it was under the armor had not occurred previously.

There was just _NO_ being calm when one bathed with Fili.

Blush erupting all over her face, she turned herself around in his arms. Her back to him so she could pretend she had some semblance of not being incredibly embarrassed and some other rather intense feeling, she grabbed the bathing oil and began washing her hair and exposed skin.

Having an inkling of what was running through her mind—his stomach not being particularly kind to him either—Fili couldn't help a rather triumphant smile as he swam them gently back toward the edge beneath the spray so he could lean against it as she washed. An odd catch in her voice, she asked without turning around, "So is there an amazing story that goes along with you and Kili leaning how to swim?"

Laughing, he nodded, "There are always amazing stories when Kili and I are involved."

Raising an eyebrow, she sent a look over her shoulder that was completely not intimidating given her head was covered in lather. Grinning at him, she commented nonchalantly, "You two do seem to have a knack for getting yourselves into awkward situations. Smithing and the two of you just do not mix, for example."

Fili abruptly stopped laughing, "He told you that story?!" As she began giggling uncontrollably, his face going a red that rivaled hers, he angrily muttered, "I can't believe he told you that…"

Her hand covered in suds, she gently splashed him, the water wiping the frown right off his face, "You told me his. It's only fair that he tell me yours."

"_Nothing_ is fair when it comes to my pants catching fire."

"Well," she smiled, "you might have a point there. Anyway, back to you two and swimming. What happened?"

Pausing as he watched her duck her head beneath the falling water, effectively rinsing the soap off, it took him a moment to respond. Only when she looked at him with an expectant smile did he find his voice, "Dwalin decided we needed to learn how to swim. So, one day while Thorin and our mother were both out and he'd been forced to watch us, he took us to a pond near the entrance of the mountain. When we got to the edge, he told us we were going to learn how to swim. Then, he proceeded to pick us both up by the back of our shirts and hurl us into the water. We 'learned' to swim once we resurfaced."

She laughed as she tried to untangle her curls, "My mother did the same thing, except she pushed me off the little dock. The water was only three feet deep, but I wasn't expecting it. We always snuck up on one another and tried to get the other one after that."

Sighing melodramatically, not wanting her thoughts to go to an unhappy place, Fili noted, "We have incredibly mean teachers, Anna."

"I'm willing to bet that yours was more so than mine," she quipped as she turned back to face him.

Water droplets still pelting them from above in a warm, pleasant sort of rain, she continued detangling her hair as they talked about not too much of anything. When her brown locks were as straightened and separated as they would ever be, she was suddenly unsure of what to do with it. It had been braided for days and she'd become used to it back and out of her way, however her questions had yet to be answered. As she gathered it in her hands, silently wondering what to do with it, she could see in Fili's eyes that her inkling had been right. It had meant more than she understood.

Watching his eyes flicker back and forth from her hair to her face, that odd look in them, she decided to be brave. That aching place in her decided to be brave. Reaching her hand out while he was in mid-story concerning learning to ride a pony, she gently took the braid that fell in front of his ear in her hand.

She watched as he froze like a sighted rabbit as she ran her thumb up and down it, the weave being as strong as ever after being soaked. She didn't notice how his hands began trembling slightly where they held her. Waiting until his eyes found hers after he swallowed nervously, she asked in a voice so soft it was almost inaudible, "Fili…what did my braid mean? Why was everyone so interested in where I got it?"

With a hesitance most unlike him, it took him a long moment of being rained upon from above to answer. His chest was yelling at him again, arguing with his mind that she knew something was up, that he liked her because she was smart…and beautiful and amazing and brave and adorable and incredibly kind and wonderfully flawed and so many other things that he shouldn't have noticed in so short an amount of time.

Also, she was touching his braid. No, no he was never going to breathe properly again. Mahal might as well just take him then if she happened to touch his beard. He'd die of forgetting how to breathe.

Though he hadn't spoken, his arms were still firmly about her waist, steadfastly keeping her above the water like he'd promised. Smiling slightly at his sudden shyness, she let go of his hair, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

She'd meant to pull her hand back toward her, to give him his personal space, but her hand had other ideas. As her eyes flicked down from where he was staring at her, she watched as her fingers softly touched his face like his so often did hers, his stubble and beard pleasantly rough against her skin. The sudden urge to know what it felt like against her skin as she kissed him came over her again, though more strongly than before.

Her stomach and that aching part of her were doing decidedly odd things when his rather lower than usual voice broke her thoughts. "It meant that, were I a hobbit, we'd have gone to many, many dances and the only person whose feet you stepped on were mine."

Finally deciding to just let the roaring in his chest get what it wanted as her blue eyes snapped up to meet his, a surprised but happy look on her face, Fili leaned down. Their foreheads touching and Poppy's eyes unsure of what exactly to look at—his eyes or his mouth—he whispered with a grin, "Anna, I'm going to kiss you now."

Bright though nervous smile coming to her face, she attempted to respond, "Oka—"

His lips were on hers before she could finish the syllable, gently causing every thought in her head to simultaneously flee and her lungs to forget how to breathe. It felt like every part of her was just as helpless and turned about as when she was being pulled through the water, but this time, with Fili's arms around her, his lips pressing mind-numbingly against hers, and his beard scratching against her chin in a way that made her stomach happily ache, Poppy didn't mind in the slightest.

An oddly discontented squeak escaping her throat, she sat there with half-closed eyes and a ridiculous smile on her face when he pulled back, again resting his forehead against hers. When her eyes blinked fully open, she found him grinning widely at her. Without waiting for more than her finding his eyes and seeing the happiness in them, he leaned down and kissed her again.

As she shyly, almost hesitantly began to kiss him back, her arms wrapping around his neck, her silky, soaked dress pressing against him, his chest exploding triumphantly, Fili knew.

His imagination was incredibly weak compared to real life.

* * *

A/N: Well hello there! So, wasn't last night just the perfect freaking time for my college's internet to go out. (angry mutterings) So...here's the chapter, let me know what you think... :D

May I just now say, thanks so much for reading and for your support, review if you desire, and I hope you enjoyed. See you Saturday. :)


	41. Secrets

"_No, Fili isn't with me. I think he meant to find Poppy since none of us could find her_."

At first, Kili's vague voice that sounded as if it were down by the river didn't bother Fili and Poppy in the slightest. As his arms tightened around her, she smiled against his kiss. She was likely all pruney by then, but after winding her fingers in his blonde hair and hearing a happy sound escape from his throat, she decided she could manage being wrinkly. With him keeping her above water, she would willingly stay in that pool until darkness fell.

"_None of the others have seen him. Fine, I'll go ask Gandalf._"

Both of them, however, took great notice of Thorin's voice. Freezing in one another's arms, their eyes snapped open simultaneously. They heard no more conversation and could only presume after a few tense minutes that their leader had left. Apprehension stared back at each of them until finally Poppy let out a sigh. Biting her lip with a small smile, she quietly commented, "He'll be angry at me…"

"No," Fili replied with a shake of his head, "he'll kill me…" Suddenly he grinned brightly and added, "But eventually he'll get over it."

Some small part of Poppy jumped for joy at the knowledge that Fili still liked her, still showed it, even though his uncle would disapprove. On the other hand, that goal not to drive a wedge between them had just become far trickier. Leaning her forehead against his, she sighed once more, "We probably shouldn't do this after we leave Rivendell, should we. We should wait until the quest is finished and Thorin has the ability to 'get over it'."

The dwarf had to chuckle at how her tone clearly said refraining from kissing him was the last thing in the world she wanted to do. It was an adorable change from her normal shyness. Despite a blush that sprang up, she smiled back. Pushing a strand of wet hair from her face with his thumb, he nodded reluctantly, "Aye, waiting would probably be wise."

"Well, _Mahalu-me turg_..."

Laughing as she used the one curse in Khuzdul she knew, he quickly but heavily kissed her again, "Don't let Dori hear you talking like that. Come on. We should dry off."

Neither actually made to move for a long time. Hiding from the world in one another's embrace was far too enjoyable.

* * *

"What took the two of you so very, _very_ long?"

Kili couldn't decide if he wanted to come off as amused or parental with his question, so he only managed to convey a raised eyebrow and a cheeky grin as his again fully-clothed brother and Poppy came down the path, inconspicuously hand in hand. Staying true to his word, Kili had 'kept watch' for the two of them. The path was close enough to the river that he could continue fishing, for which he was thankful because it had been far over an hour.

Rolling his eyes, the older brother punched the younger in the shoulder as he sat down. The incredibly bright blush that appeared on Poppy's face did the work of answering his question easily enough, however.

Smirking as he turned his attention back to the river and his fishing pole, he commented lightly, "Uncle came by to visit…"

"We heard," Fili replied flatly as he gently tugged on the hobbit's hand, pulling her down to sit beside him. Still blushing, she acquiesced with a small grin, flopping down between the two of them. A similar smile appeared on the dwarf's face.

Though much teasing was begging to escape from Kili, he found himself remaining silent. It was just so incredibly clear how very happy they were, he'd feel guilty interrupting it. Instead, he kept fishing as his brother pulled Poppy into his lap and gently began running his fingers through her curls. An oddly content expression came over her face as he began to weave the strands together, taking more time with it than he had previously. He knew he probably shouldn't, but Fili made it slightly more elaborate than before, weaving in a braid on either side of her head that joined with the long one in back. That main one that fell halfway down her back, he made into a fishtail knot, absently hoping that the others would just assume an elf had done the honor. It wasn't a terribly popular style among dwarf men, but his mother had once taught him.

The hobbit was asleep, her head resting in the crook of Fili's neck, her new braid complete, and her arms encircling his chest, before the younger brother chose to speak. "You told her what it means?"

Not wishing to wake her up, Fili merely nodded in answer, an arm wrapping possessively around her waist.

"I take it you're going to avoid telling uncle." At his brother's nod, Kili grinned widely, "And mother always accused _me_ of being the one who would be the death of her."

He chuckled quietly at the heavy glare sent his way. "I'm teasing and you know it, Fili. Mother would like her. Bilbo might just kill you, though. Something tells me you did more than call her 'lovely'. I'd imagine you're a sight better than those other two, but still our burglar can be scary when he wants to be. Watch your braids, lest they be removed by angry hobbit." The glare did not let up in the slightest. "I take it you're going to avoid telling him, too. Well, the two of you just have all the more reason to finish the quest…"

"_Shut up_," Fili admonished in Khuzdul, sharply punching his little brother in the arm. As Kili let out a surprised grunt of pain, he continued in a sharp whisper, "_Can I not even kiss her without you planning our wedding for Mahal's sake?!"_

Still smiling, Kili held up his hands in surrender, "All right, I'm sorry. But you have to allow me that I've had plenty of time to come up with ways to tease. Just make sure uncle doesn't find out, otherwise her life is going to get even more difficult once we leave."

Sighing slightly, running his free hand down his face, Fili nodded, "I know. We talked about that."

Blinking awake, small sleepy smile on her face, Poppy yawned, "What did we talk about?"

Unable to resist making her blush yet again, Kili replied, "Oh, how you and my brother are going to avoid snogging for the time being so that uncle does not spontaneously combust."

A blush did indeed appear, but two smacks to his arm came along with it. "Ever do you grow more astute, Kili, darling," she noted wryly.

"Speaking of my astuteness, what in the name of Durin's beard are you wearing?"

Fidgeting uncomfortably, she looked down at her dress. Its light fabric had quickly and easily dried, leaving it again a pale, petal pink. "Ummm, a dress…"

"Well yes, but you actually look like a girl…"

"_Leave her alone, lad_," was suddenly barked from behind them. The brothers whirled about and Poppy peeked over Fili's shoulder. Standing with arms crossed, his fishing rod in hand, he smiled at her, having noticed and approved of both her position and her hair. Jerking his head back in the direction he'd come from, he simply added, "_Supper._"

They all rose to follow him. Kili chattering on about something, Poppy quit paying attention when she felt Fili slip his hand in hers, their fingers intertwining. Smiling in the explosively happy way that aching part of her chest demanded, she found him smiling back.

She was unable to outwardly scream to the world that she finally knew how positively wonderful kissing Fili was. She couldn't mention it to anyone. She couldn't just walk up to him whenever she liked and kiss him. But, she had never been a terribly public soul anyway. For all Kili's teasing, she wasn't truly embarrassed. She was too happy to be embarrassed.

For once, she, Poppy Gamgee, had a good secret and she was willing to keep it.

* * *

Upon returning to the group, Poppy and Fili had reluctantly though swiftly released hands. They were reduced to smiling at one another across the fire instead. The promise of fish had put everyone into too good of a mood to wonder where the hobbit had disappeared to for most of the day after her 'weapons demonstration' as Nori described it. Blushing, she'd gently shoved his arm where he sat next to her.

Chuckling, Gandalf had offered, "You and our hostess are full of many surprises, Anna. Tell me, are you excited for tomorrow, my dear?"

When she didn't answer, merely looked down at her fish soup with a reddening face, Ori asked with his usual excitement, "Why, what's tomorrow? Poppy, what's happening tomorrow?"

Grinning brightly, Bilbo was the one to reply, "Tomorrow is Midsummer's Eve. It's her birthday."


	42. Cake

The next morning in Rivendell dawned just as brightly and gloriously as the last, though Poppy had to admit that it somehow seemed…more. Perhaps it was because it would likely be one of her final times witnessing it. Thorin's map would be read that night, hopefully giving the leader all the direction he needed. She doubted the Company would linger much longer. If they didn't, neither would she.

Smiling absently as she laid her head on the window sill and simply watched the world come back to the light, she remained until the sky had turned lovely shades of pink and golden yellow. Pushing herself up after that, she took a quick headcount. Though silly, she did so every day. At least, there in the safety of Rivendell it was silly. She had no need to fear for any of them, but she'd always been a worrier when it came to others.

Noting they were all there, sleeping in the same spots they always did, snoring in the same way they always did, she pushed herself up and padded silently toward the doorway.

Bilbo had given away her secret the evening before. She hadn't really wanted them all to know it was her birthday. She hadn't properly celebrated the day since she was fifteen. After growing up a bit, she'd disliked the attention, more so now than ever. But, the cat was out of the bag, the pipe weed out of the barrel, which meant there was nothing to do but smoke it. What was a girl to do?

Having hoped that the significance of the day would go unnoticed—which was foolish she realized as she made her way through the peacefulness of Rivendell in the morning; Bilbo was far too much himself to have not brought it up—she hadn't thought of what to give them all. As hobbit tradition commanded, birthdays were for gifts. Lots of gifts, mainly from the lucky birthday person. As a child, she'd given small cakes that her mother helped her bake, flowers she'd grown, or drawings to her relatives and friends on Midsummer's Eve.

Well, vegetables and flowers were out. Drawings…she wasn't even going to try going there. Her skills hadn't actually developed past those of a five-year-old. Plus, did she really want to go right up to Thorin Oakenshield and hand him a _drawing_ of all things? She didn't think so.

That left one thing that she could make en mass and make with some semblance of expertise. She wondered how her dwarves felt about baked goods… Well, if Bombur's belly and Fili's comments to her what felt like so long ago when their breakfast consisted of her muffins, she was willing to wager that they wouldn't turn them away. It wasn't much by way of birthday presents, but when on a quest, one did what she must.

* * *

"Why isn't she here, though?"

Frowning, Ori turned to his brothers, in search of some kind of answer. It would do no good for them to go to make her birthday present and have her catch them. That would never do. She wasn't there and he wanted to know why the hobbit's pillow was unused and her cloak lying limply on the floor where she usually slept between Bilbo and Bifur. The warrior dwarf, though awake, had no idea where she'd gone. Oddly enough, she'd managed to sneak past him without waking him whenever it was that she left that morning.

"It's her birthday," Nori offered with a shrug. "She won't be in the kitchens on _her_ birthday. That's the whole point of birthdays."

"I wonder why she didn't just sleep in," Dori mused, leading the way as usual. "The lass is up walking for twelve hours a day for the last three weeks and she doesn't even take the time to sleep in on her birthday. She needs to learn what 'resting' is for. Bombur, are you coming?"

With a grunt and a nod, the rotund dwarf pushed himself up from the floor and joined them. Still questioning why the hobbit wasn't around in his ever-spinning mind, Ori asked the question they likely should have thought of before, "So, where are the kitchens?"

The older three all came to abrupt halts before they were out of the courtyard. Well, that was indeed a problem. Approaching the quartet with a soft smile, Arwen appeared before them, "Are you in need of some assistance, master dwarves?"

She was greeted with the open, clearly rather enamored gazes their kin had given her every time she stood in their presence. Though the Evenstar was not a vain woman, their clear belief in her beauty made her smirk on the inside. It was flattering, even if not entirely new. Part of her was more than flattered that even with a culture and values that differed so much from hers, they still found her beautiful. Her grandmother had once told her that a people who could genuinely find fairness within the same thing were never so different as to be unable to reach a state of acceptance. Galadriel was wiser than any being to walk the earth and it appeared that this instance was no exception.

These thoughts pervaded the elf's mind as the dwarves found their tongues and the words to go along with them. Being the first to regain speech, Ori's face spread wide with an exuberant smile, "We are trying to find the kitchens. It is Poppy's birthday and we need to make her something."

"I shall take you," Arwen promised with a smile, extending a hand in the appropriate direction. "Come with me."

Her purple skirt floating along behind her, the elf queried as her slowed strides guided her companions to their destination, "What is it you need to make? I am unfamiliar with Dwarvish birthday customs as it were." She smiled warmly at them, humor in her grey eyes.

"A feast!" Bombur answered immediately with an amount of gusto proportional to his size. He adored birthdays, whether they were his or someone else's. The food was always unsurpassed. Nothing was so delicious as a birthday…except perhaps a wedding, but that was another matter entirely.

Picking up where the chef left off, Dori continued, "We end the day with a large feast with ale and eating and dancing if there are enough women around to warrant it. There is also always a cake. The rest of the day is a day of rest for the birthday person. He gets the day off of work and gets to do as he pleases from whenever it is he decides to wake up until the feast. Usually getting up is a questionable thing, because most of us like to get far too drunk the eve of our birthdays because we _know_ we can sleep through the hangover..." He sent an accusing glance in Nori's direction, though the middle brother ignored it except for a small grin. "There are many little things in between, but that is the gist of it. What about your people, my lady?"

"We do not celebrate birthdays," Arwen explained, the smell of the kitchens coming closer as they entered a doorway toward the back of her father's hall. "We observe our 'conception days' though they are more for the parents than children. We also prepare a special meal and dance on occasion, though I highly doubt we are as lively as your people," she added with a smile.

"What do hobbits do?!" Ori questioned, pulling his notebook out so he wouldn't miss anything. However, he was greeted with silence for a long minute as they wound their way through a number of halls. The smell of what was likely blueberry something wafted heavily toward them.

Pensive frown pulling on her features, the elf responded finally while pushing a door open for them, "I do not honestly know what hobbits do."

"For what?"

As one the five looked up to see a pair of smiling blue eyes looking back at them. As they stared on, Poppy reiterated while taking a small taste of the batter she was working on from where she perched upon a stool to reach, "What do hobbits do for what?"

"What are you doing here, lass?" Bombur finally asked, hands upon his hips as he realized that she was _baking_ of all things on her birthday.

"Baking," she replied innocently, stirring whatever lovely smelling concoction was in the bowl in front of her. Padding over to a nearby cupboard, an elf preparing a salad nearby smiling as the shorter baker had to climb to reach the cinnamon.

"But it's your birthday!" Ori exclaimed, clearly scandalized.

"Of course. That's why I'm baking," Poppy replied with a smile, clearly not understanding his incredulity, going back to her bowl and adding her new spice to taste.

"But it's _your_ birthday," the youngest dwarf protested again. "You don't _bake_ on your birthday! You shouldn't even be awake. You should be sleeping in!"

Finally frowning, an eyebrow raised, she asked with a tilted head, "What _exactly_ do you guys do on birthdays? Hobbits make gifts for all their guests. So, I'm baking you all something. I couldn't sleep in; I had too much to do. Wait... Why are _you_ here?"

"Baking," they replied slyly in unison, not wanting to spoil the surprise of why they had come.

Laughing lightly, hoping to distract the unsuspecting hobbit, Arwen provided as she stepped into the room and stood beside Poppy, pushing back her sleeves in order to help, "I believe, Meduianna, that you're going to have a very interesting dwarf-hobbit birthday…"

* * *

A/N: Well hello there! So, I realized that for like the first time, I forgot to put an author's note on the last chapter. I apologize. I was apparently very motivated in getting it up. On the subject of motivation, I apologize for being late and for there not being much here. School is plugging along like always (grumble, grumble). Also, yesterday, I gave blood and afterward I proceeded to promptly go to class, return to my room, and fall asleep until 8 am this morning. lol I'm on my 11th pint of blood given ever, you'd think my body would know what I was getting it into by now. So, needless to say, all the productivity I wanted to emanate yesterday had to be pushed to today.

Anywho, that's my terrible excuse of woe (FYI, giving blood isn't that bad, I just didn't have the time to eat enough afterward. For the sake of the Red Cross, I felt I should clarify :D). I know this was short, but I wanted to keep sort of on schedule. I'll try and get a good chunk of what needs to happy up in the next one. Not that I don't like it, but I feel it's time to get moving on from Rivendell. We don't want to stay past our welcome. So, as always, thanks so much for reading, review if the desire takes you, and I do hope you enjoyed. :D


	43. Midsummer's Eve

"So, Bilbo, buddy, tell us how this is going to go."

Frowning slightly when he looked up from the bowl he was washing his face in, attempting to bring himself to a more awake state after sleeping late into their last morning in Rivendell, Bilbo replied to Kili with a question, "How what is going to go?"

Huffing in irritation, the younger dwarf elaborated, "Poppy's birthday, you numbskull. Is there something we should know about hobbit birthdays?" Grinning roguishly, he nodded to his brother, "With Fili's luck he'll end up insulting her and driving her away forever."

The blonde dwarf's glare was far from amused, though Bilbo laughed after drying his face, "Even with you two's incredible skills in that category, I doubt you could manage that Fili. For one, she's far too fond of you to completely disown you…at least for forever." The hobbit frowned in bewilderment as Fili turned a bright pink at that observation and Kili began suffocating in his own laughter. Choosing to simply press on, wondering for the umpteenth time why his cousin chose those two of all the dwarves to be so very close to, he added, "Secondly, you can't really insult her. Neither of you is family or neighbors, so you don't do anything but receive gifts. It's as simple as that. Unless you turn and throw her gift to you back in her face, I doubt anything will go wrong."

"Wait a second," Fili broke in. "You're saying that it's her birthday and we're not supposed to do anything just because we're not family?"

"Or neighbors," Kili added helpfully. Throwing an arm around Bilbo's shoulders, causing the hobbit to slump resignedly, he shrugged with a large grin, "But you know, brother, who's to say what a neighbor is. Does being a neighbor require having a house or does it just mean that we sleep near her? Because, if it is the latter, then we are bound by our honor as Dwarves of Durin to get her _something_. If it means that we _act_ neighborly then Fili, shame on your for not having her gift wrapped yet. That should've been done yesterday."

Eyes narrowing as Fili's face took on a pained, redder expression, Bilbo glanced between the two of them, "What do you mean 'act neighborly'? What have you two been up to?"

"Nothing you would approve of, Bilbo, buddy. Now, I think we should find some breakfast and get to thinking about what to get our resident lovely. Come on, Fili." Letting go of the hobbit, Kili took his brother by the shoulder and hauled him toward the door.

Bilbo's suspicious gaze followed them, especially when he heard Fili quietly threaten, "I swear to Mahal, if they find out because of you, I will smack you in the head with your bow."

"I love you, too, big brother."

"Hush and help me figure out what to give her."

Looking up at a chuckling Bifur beside him, Bilbo asked as the brothers walked out of earshot, "Do you have any idea what they're talking about?" The old warrior's grin clearly said he didn't want to know. Sighing, he shrugged before finding his waistcoat and joining the others on their way to lunch.

Upon leaving their quarters, Dwalin inquired gruffly, given that everyone else was appearing to, "How old is the lass going to be, Master Baggins?"

It took Bilbo a short moment to do the math in his head before answering, "Thirty-six. Why do you ask?"

Ignoring the shorter man's question, the warrior continued, "When is it that you lot come of age then?"

"Thirty-three… She's an adult if that's what you're asking…"

The bald companion did not seem to hear the last bit, declaring with a kind of disinterest that indicated at least a small bit of the opposite, "Good. At least this party everyone seems intent on having won't be an entire waste."

Wondering what could possibly go on to make the ever stern Dwalin happy, Bilbo asked with a groan, "What do you have in mind _now_?"

"A staple of every dwarven gathering, lad. Balin, you're good with these ruddy elves. Do you want to help me find their stock?"

Grinning merrily beneath his snow-colored beard, Balin nodded, "Aye, brother. I will at that. No need to worry, lad. Your cousin will be in excellent hands."

Huffing a sound of exhaustion before it was even officially noon, Bilbo frowned, "That's exactly what I'm worried about."

Aside from a usually grouchy Thorin, all present laughed and continued on their way, the smell of blueberry something hitting them quite deliciously at one point.

* * *

"No, Ori! We don't want baking soda in there again." Letting out a silent, calming breath, Poppy smiled up at the dwarf who had insisted on coming over to help her bake. He was adorable, always trying to help and his sleeves dragging in the batter, but if he tried to put extra baking soda in one more time…!

The scholar grinned when she turned away, knowing full well what he'd just done. Baking wasn't something he knew well, but he knew enough to realize that too much baking soda did bad, bad things to muffins. He was rather enjoying his role as distraction. As he kept Poppy busy keeping him from ruining her birthday gifts on one end of the kitchens, his brothers, Bombur, Arwen, and what appeared to be a kitchen squadron of elves were ensuring she received a feast fit for her birthday at the other. The hobbit was so involved with her task of saving her baked goods that she hadn't even noticed.

"I'm sorry, Poppy," he pouted to the best of his ability, looking down at his sleeves. "I'm just trying to help."

Smiling widely, she bumped his shoulder affectionately, "I know that, Ori. Come on, how about you stir instead of add ingredients."

He did as she bid for a few moments, smirking to himself. He'd never been given a job of such import or with such a level of espionage. When he, Dori, and Nori had gotten themselves in trouble as younger dwarves—well, usually it was him following Nori and Dori picking up the pieces—one of the older two had always done the talking. Ori was given the job of standing there and looking adorable and innocent. He was rather enjoying his turn at being the sneaky one.

Making conversation to cover up Bombur's voice, "So what did you do yesterday, Poppy? I was so busy in the library I didn't notice where you went."

The shorter woman paused for a short second where she was holding a small spice jar, a bright, dreamy smile washing across her face. "The lady Arwen led me to the baths. I haven't had one since before we left the Shire."

"Oh, is that where you got your dress?" He gestured toward the pink garment she was still sporting. The revelation that it was her birthday had drawn attention away from her new choice of clothing the night before, but not that he noticed he, it seemed distinctly odd for Poppy to be wearing a dress. It wasn't because he didn't consider her a girl…she was very much a girl. He supposed it was just because the hobbit didn't need a frilly dress to be beautiful. Shy he might be, just like her, but even he could tell that his friend was pretty.

Nodding as she got her wits back about her, it taking a moment to push yesterday afternoon at least to the back of her mind, she replied, "Yes. Arwen got it for me while my clothes were being washed." Looking up with a frown, she thought aloud, "I wonder if they're done yet."

Clinging to an excuse to get her out of the kitchen, the dwarf suggested excitedly, "When you're done with these we can go find Arwen and ask! I haven't seen her yet this morning…"

"Yes you have," Poppy protested, looking at him suspiciously. "You walked in with her earlier. Speaking of, where did the others all go?"

Suddenly realizing that perhaps there was a reason Nori had been the one to do these jobs, he shrugged, "I really don't know. I think Lady Arwen left, however. I can help you find her later... I like your new hair. Did one of the elves do it for you?"

The wistful smile reappeared and it took her a moment to nod and lie, looking resolutely into the oven as she extracted the first batch of muffins, "Yes. Yes, one did. I like it, too. So, what _do_ dwarves do for their birthdays?"

Smiling mischievously to himself, he merely said while grabbing a new cup of flour and making to pour it in the already thick batter, "You'll see. So, do we need more of this?"

"NO!"

* * *

It was reaching the end of the midday meal when Poppy and Ori finally emerged from the kitchen, two heaping baskets of muffins in their hands. The dwarf wondered if instead of a birthday batch, she had made the army-sized recipe. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen so many of the delicious little domes in all his life. Before they left, as she put the final few cooling pastries on top, he had skittered to the other side of the large fireplace in the middle that hid his kin and Arwen.

Whispering hurriedly that they all needed to make themselves scarce and meet them in the hall where they all ate, he rejoined the birthday hobbit and took a basket. Asking multiple times if she had everything or if they needed some kind of topping, he gave his fellow conspirators the time to disappear.

With her smiling affectionately though a bit exasperatedly beside him, they wound their way through the elven building. As soon as they went up the few steps to the balcony where they ate, her large hobbit feet making almost no noise, Ori saw the exasperation drain away immediately. He wasn't sure why, but it appeared the prospect of sharing her special day and the presents she had made for the occasion was making Poppy's smile permanent. Thanking him and kissing his cheek after he set his basket down, she commenced passing out her gifts to all present to the greeting of "POPPY!"

In a wave of emotion that hadn't fully hit her until she found herself amongst all of her friends, Poppy realized for the first time just how very much she had missed her birthday…or perhaps it was just she had missed having friends worthy of celebrating it with her. She hadn't realized how very much she had missed having _friends _until she was handing out muffins two and three at a time, receiving birthday wishes and tight, pleasantly crushing birthday hugs. For once, being the center of attention came with so many good, loving intentions that she couldn't help but be flattered instead of uncomfortable.

Beginning at the nearest end of the table, she merely made her way down the line. Oin, the lucky first dwarf, smiled widely up at her, brandishing a muffin in her direction, "Don't think this gets you out of your lessons, Poppy."

Laughing, she promised, "I hadn't dreamed of it."

Next was Gloin. The redheaded dwarf had yet to truly warm to her, but he spared her a smiled and a nod, "The best of days to you, lass."

Three wide, dare she say guilty grins greeted her in the forms of Ori, Dori, and Nori. After taking their pastries, the muffins were immediately put and forgotten on the table and she found herself in the center of a tight, jostling group hug, the three brothers beginning to sing a boisterous version of what sounded like a Dwarvish birthday song.

_Today was the day that you were born_

_In this big wide world begun was your tale_

_Never since has the earth known scorn_

_Now hurrah! you've opened the ale!_

Unable and unwilling to escape, she could only giggle uncontrollably as they sloppily but lovingly serenaded her, the lyrics indicating the tune was likely composed in a bar of some kind. It's beginning seemed well intentioned, but by the end the alcohol had started talking. The younger two smiling widely at her, it was Dori who spoke when they released her. Pulling her into a hug, the dwarf whispered, "Hobbit, dwarf or even elf, Poppy, you're a sister to us. Happy birthday."

Smiling at the three of them with tears beginning to prick her eyes, understanding the strength of their acceptance given they had known her for little more than three weeks, she held up her basket. Laughing, she offered, "More muffins for you, brothers."

Bombur came next. Not needing to say anything, he just pulled her into a hug and snuck a not so subtle extra fistful of muffins as she laughed and rolled her eyes.

"I believe there a special story in store for you tonight, lass," Bofur pledged with his usual grin while taking his share. "What would you like to hear, birthday girl?"

Returning the hug he gave her, she shrugged, "Surprise me."

A hug and a happy sounding bark of a sentence followed. From a pocket, he produced a small bracelet of braided black twine. Explaining for his cousin, Bofur spoke, "The two of us worked on that this morning while you were gone. Enough of us have little things hidden beneath our gloves and gauntlets, we figured it was high time you had something, too. Besides…" He smiled widely at her as Bifur tied the gift around her small wrist, "when in doubt, always give women jewelry."

Merely shaking her head with a smile, not even attempting to contradict any truth the statement might have, she thanked them both, giving her quieter companion a grateful kiss on the cheek before continuing on.

Though her mood was incredibly high, she had to steel herself quickly and invisibly a quick second. At the end of the rounded table sat Thorin, Dwalin, and Balin. While the latter gave her a warm, encouraging smile, the other two looked much as they always did: gruff, grim, and, well…themselves. In silence, though with a shy smile, she held forth the nearly empty basket. Balin verbally thanked her and Dwalin nodded his thanks.

As she made to turn and take up her other basket, Thorin's voice caused her pause. "Whatever you do, girl, no matter how this day goes," she saw him glance at the two brothers out of the corner of his eye and she swore there was almost mirth in his tone, "drink _nothing_ these two give you. For the sake of tomorrow morning, trust no cup."

As the others erupted in laughter, she smiled more genuinely at the king who gave her a _nearly_ friendly nod. While she had come to be quite used to she and Thorin's awkward, generally hostile relationship, she was rather touched to see him allowing himself a good mood on her birthday of all days.

Bilbo came next. Rising immediately from his seat, she pulled her into a hug, forgetting all about the prospect of muffins while confronted with just how very happy she seemed. The past two birthdays had been quiet affairs that passed with her making him his favorite breakfast as her gift and him making her favorite supper and his best efforts at a cake. The joy and such openness amongst their Company she was showing yet again gave him hope, hope that she would once again be the bright, bubbly hobbit he ran about his youth with, hope that she would again be happy.

Squeezing her tightly, he whispered, "I love you, cousin."

"I love you, too, Bilbo." Pulling away and proffering her muffins, she added so the others could hear, "Oh, and I finished your hat. You can look as dashing as Bofur after today."

"Oh, that's…wonderful," the hobbit replied, trying to sound excited as their companions roared with laughter about them.

Fili and Kili were the only two left at the dwarves' table, both smiling up at her broadly. They as well took hugs before muffins. After pulling back and each resting an arm across her shoulders, the latter of the brothers declared loudly and grandiosely, "Poppy, our lovely, _lovely_ Poppy, may you have a wonderful day! Also, don't listen to a word Uncle Thorin says. You drink whatever we hand you."

Raising an eyebrow at him, she commented lightly to the amusement of all, "I do believe for the first time, I'm going to agree with Thorin. You, Kili of the honorable Dwarves of Durin, want to get me drunk, don't you."

Grinning cheekily with a wink, he protested, "No, of course not."

"Some friend you are, my darling Kili." Her smile taking a turn for the joyous, she looked up at the blonde brother who was rubbing little circles on the back of her shoulder, "Fili, please make sure your brother does not get me inebriated."

Laughing, he gave her a smile with a heat behind it that only the two of them and Kili understood, "I'll do my best."

Having to physically keep herself from just standing there smiling at him, she ducked out from their arms and went to the high table where Gandalf, Elrond, and his children sat. The wizard gave her a warm smile, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and squeezing it in a gentle hug, "The very best of days to you, little Anna. I am just sorry I have no fireworks this time."

The memory of her last birthday with his fireworks still a fond one, she shook her head, "That's alright, Gandalf. Next time, perhaps."

His teasing glance going from her to the blonde dwarf still staring after her, he queried, "I do wonder where the next one will be. The Shire or perhaps somewhere yet ahead…"

Letting out a sound of exasperation, she silently wondered how he always seemed to just _know_. It was really quite infuriating sometimes. Quite sure in her thought that he would say nothing when they were not out of Thorin and the others' hearing, she merely sighed. "And I thought Istari were supposed to _not _be ornery."

"Whoever told you such a ridiculous thing, my dear?" asked the laughing wizard, taking his first bite of her treats.

In his always dignified voice, Elrond added, "I believe that thought to be one of the great misconceptions of our world, Meduianna. The wizards wish us all to think they are decorous, but rather revel in being the opposite simply because they can…"

As she and the elf lord exchanged smiles, the old man protested, "I daresay you've never met the head of our Order, then, Lord Elrond. Tell me, where were you the last time the White Council was called?"

"Most amusing, Mithrandir," the elf retorted—though Poppy wasn't sure Elrond had the physical ability to stoop low enough to retort—while taking his helping of her offering. Bowing his head, he said, "_A happy birthday to you, Meduianna."_

Elladan, Elrohir, and Arwen graciously took their shares in a similar manner, the daughter adding, "_I do not wish to take you from your friends, Meduianna, but if I could borrow you this afternoon. I believe your clothes are finished and I would help you resupply if I could."_

Looking down at her pink dress for a second, she realized she really was beginning to miss her clothes. She thanked the elf, "_Hannad."_

As the hobbit backed away, making to take the open seat next to Fili at the other table, the elven princess and the brothers Dori, Nori, and Ori exchanged conspiratorial glances. With Poppy's left hand and Fili's right subtly hidden beneath the table, their fingers intertwined, the rest of the meal passed with much laughter.

* * *

The afternoon passed in lazy, companionable hours that Dori, Nori, Ori, and Bombur were all mysteriously absent from. At one point when the sun was beginning to dip and some delicious but decidedly not elven cuisine smells began to waft from the kitchen, Arwen arrived to quickly steal Poppy away, keeping her effectively distracted from wondering where those four had gone. Taking her pack with her, Poppy reorganized the bag containing all of her necessities upon joining Arwen in the same room they had gone to the day before when the elf had changed for their sparring.

Upon changing back into her own clothes and handing the pink dress to her hostess, Poppy let out a bit of a relieved breath. Smiling, the taller woman commented, "You look more comfortable now, Meduianna. I take it you do not often wear dresses."

"Not if I can help it," Poppy laughed as she packed the dark green tunic the elf had given her to replace the shirt the warg had torn to pieces. "I usually find myself tripping over the skirts somehow. On occasion, it is rather nice to be pretty, however."

"Take it from one who has seen beauty, you do not need a dress to be pretty." At Poppy's subsequent disbelieving glance, Arwen added, "I will guarantee that many of your companions would agree with me."

Attempting to fight down a blush at the same time she gently ran her fingers down her braid, the hobbit merely continued looking at her belongings in an attempt to discern the best way to pack them. Letting the shy woman digest that thought in silence for a few moments, Arwen rose and strode across the room, her soft red skirt and sleeves floating along behind her. Upon getting something from a package that had been brought with the hobbit's clothes, she returned to Poppy's side.

"My brothers had these quickly made for you. They are not much, but they decided that a hobbit staff-wielder needed some protection. Also, I think that they felt a need to get you something for your birthday as well." Smiling widely, she added, "They couldn't let the dwarves win all your affections."

In the elf's pale hands sat a pair of leather bracers, just the size for a hobbit's wrists and forearms. Almost black in color, they sported grey designs etched into the material. Poppy looked at them with no small bit of wonder as Arwen showed her how to put them on and lace them. While the leather was strong, they began at the right place on her wrists so she could still roll the joint, allowing her to spin and twist her staff as she so clumsily did.

Tears in her eyes, Poppy thanked while wiping her eyes with a sleeve, "I don't know what to say. This is all really quite odd. We hobbits _give_ things on our birthdays. I've never received this many presents in my life."

Smiling warmly, the elf shrugged, "You have reached a time in your life when you have the friends to give you things, whether your culture's traditions dictate them or not. People love you, Meduianna. A set of bracers and a fixed staff is pale in comparison to what my people would give in thanks."

Swallowing the flood of emotion that had risen up, the hobbit settled back to her task, happily spending a few of her last hours in Rivendell with the elf who had become her friend.

* * *

Darkness had fallen before the two women's return, the hobbit's new gift stowed safely in her pack and her old clothes back on. Bidding Poppy and the mostly enamored Company a fond good evening, she retreated down one of the garden paths, her part in Poppy's birthday finished once she informed the dwarves in the kitchen that she had returned.

Poppy had just sat down, when she queried, "Did you all go and eat already?"

"No, lass," Oin grumbled, polishing his iron staff. "We were instructed by a crazed Ori that we weren't to take a step toward a meal."

"But why?" If the look on Bilbo's face was any indication, most of them were likely far past hungry. Even as she asked, her cousin's stomach growled loudly in protest.

"Because a special dinner was planned!" declared Bombur loudly from the doorway, a bright smile upon her round, red face and three heaping platters of food in his hands. Behind him, Dori, Ori, and Nori were similarly bedecked. The youngest also carried a rather magnificent looking cake that had her name spelled out in blueberries on the top tier.

"_SURPRISE!"_ the four of them shouted, sounding more like happy tweens than dwarves a hundred years her senior.

Laughing with tears _again_ threatening as cheers went up all around her, Poppy was beginning to wonder if some emotional part of her had just broken that day. She was crying all over the place! Far too happy to mind, she assaulted the four dwarves in hugs as soon as their arms were empty, their burdens placed on a then creaking table.

His arm and sleeve hanging comfortably over her shoulder, Ori explained with a smile, "_This_ is what we do for our birthdays."

"It's not _all_ we do," Balin interjected as the platters were quickly set upon by everyone, a cup in his hand that he shoved into hers before she could protest.

The older dwarf had turned before she could protest and Bombur appeared on her other side, "It all tastes wonderful, lass. I promise you that."

"And how do you know?!" Bofur asked from where he was loading up his plate.

"Because I tested it all myself," the chef dwarf replied with a grin. "Happy birthday, lass."

Despite any thoughts any of them had about the road ahead or the plan Gandalf had come to them with earlier in the afternoon, only cheer was found around the fire for the next hours. Even Thorin found himself smiling every so often and it wasn't even begrudgingly.

Bombur's feast quickly disappeared, Poppy's candles were blown out and Bilbo proceeded to squish a piece of the cake into her face like they had done as children, causing her to chase after him with some wine-induced impairment given Dwalin and Balin's gift. That gift was quickly consumed, though far more to Poppy's detriment than anyone else's. Upon seeing her beginning to sway after her first cup, Oin had asked with a laugh, "What's the matter with her? Even you managed more than that, Master Baggins."

Answering from where he sat on his cousin's left, a laughing Fili keeping her in a sitting position on her right and constantly giving her water, Bilbo replied, "She's never drank before. We don't until we're thirty-three and she didn't exactly celebrate her last twenty birthdays…"

A silence fell over them, remembering why that was, until she let out a high-pitched giggle at nothing that was absolutely nothing like her usual one followed by a hiccup. All looking at one another, the group fell into laughter. Beside her, Fili shook his head and handed his hobbit a cup of water when her head fell onto his shoulder. Thankfully her inebriation seemed to allay any suspicions any of the others had about her position. When she smiled widely up at him, taking great gulps of water, he smiled, "You're going to thank me for that tomorrow, I promise."

With Fili's continual oversight—he only missed one cup that Kili shoved into the hobbit's hand that had its water replaced by wine—Poppy was in relative control of herself by the time Thorin, Balin, and Bilbo followed Gandalf and Lindir out into the night, their secret map and its even more secret moon runes clutched carefully but firmly in the king's grip. Thankfully, the young dwarf found she was more of a sleepy, mellow drinker. She could've been like Kili and willing to hug, kiss, and profess love to anything that moved. That would have made for a most difficult evening…

After the silence that followed their leader's exit, Bofur began his tale for her. He had been working on it all afternoon, pulling from all the stories she had told and the ones of his she had enjoyed the most. He had concocted a tale of a dwarven daughter whose call had been not to the mountains but to the forests about them and her obstacle-filled, though funny journey to find happiness and a dwarven smith to share it with. It ended with the maiden going out among the trees and her gardens during the day, reveling in growing things, and returning to her home and husband in the evenings, their differences making them stronger instead of weak.

He had thought it a grand tale if he did say so himself, and the smile upon the hobbit's face at the end from where she sleepily leaned against Fili's shoulder made him think he had thought right. Apparently feeling it necessary to keep their birthday girl upright, her self-chosen pillow had long before wrapped an arm around her shoulders. None had questioned. They had no experience with such a light weight…

Kili kept his grinning mouth shut.

As Poppy welcomed the sleepy feeling that came about her, her friends had all entered into the realm of pipe weed when Lindir reappeared on their doorstep, but with no Thorin, Balin, or Bilbo beside him. Gandalf was also glaringly absent. Bowing to them all in his regal way, he subtly searched them for the one for which he searched. Upon finding her, he announced softly, "_There is one who wishes to speak with you, Meduianna._"

Without a word to the elf, sensing he had both a sense of urgency and a disinclination for saying more, she rose and made to follow him. Smiling at her friends, her previous pillow in particular, she explained, "I'm being summoned to meet someone. I'll see you all in a bit."

"Who?" Fili questioned immediately. Still smiling in what she hoped was a comforting way, she simply shrugged that she did not know before beginning to follow along at Lindir's side.

As she suspected, the steward said nothing as he led her through Rivendell. Unsure of where they were going as he led her through Elrond's hall over multiple small bridges and up a few flights of stairs, she focused on keeping her pace quick enough to keep up with him. He only came to a halt when they had climbed a final set of stairs beside a waterfall. Lanterns lighting and statues overlooking their walkway, they made their way into a rounded pavilion that stood upon the edge of one of the valley's many cliffs.

On the edge, the moon shining brightly behind her, stood an elf the likes of which Poppy had never before laid eyes on, save once. Knowing immediately who she had been brought to, the hobbit placed her hand on her heart and bowed her head.

"_Lady Galadriel_."

A soft smile appeared on the elf queen's face and her voice rang in the hobbit's head, "_Meduianna_."

Nodding for Lindir to take his leave, the blonde elf took a few steps away from the ledge, coming to stand in front of Poppy. Smile widening as the hobbit continued to have her head bowed, she bent down and gently put a finger beneath her chin and brought her blue eyes up to meet her own grey ones. Speaking aloud, she greeted, "_As you have likely heard many times as you've stayed here, I have often wished to meet you, little one."_

Upon looking into the shorter being's eyes, Galadriel learned all that she wished to know about the hobbit. Even without peering into her thoughts, the quality of the woman before her was clear and incredibly bright, despite any hardships she had faced or had yet to face. And those that were yet to come would be faced. There was no thought of leaving in the hobbit's mind, only the will and desire to follow the ones she loved, to help, to keep them safe. The mother understood why it was her daughter had gained solace from Poppy Gamgee.

As the elf gazed upon the hobbit, Poppy looked back, finding herself deeper and deeper in awe. As the woman's grey eyes looked at her, seemed to gaze straight at her soul, it became incredibly apparent to her how very similar Celebrian had been to her mother. Not as powerful, perhaps, but each had the uncanny ability to look at you and know you. She and the daughter had never spoken a word of their pain or sufferings to one another, and yet they hadn't needed to. Both had understood, even though the elf's were far more obvious at the time, some even physical wounds having refused to heal. As she had with Celebrian, Poppy couldn't help but feel that she had somehow, for some reason, found worthy by the elf before her.

She doubted a person could understand the tranquility of spirit that resulted from the knowledge without encountering it firsthand.

Smile widening for a short moment before she stood to her full height once more, Galadriel broke the silence, "_I understand it is your birthday, Meduianna. My people do not celebrate such a day and I know that have been rather overwhelmed with gifts, but…"_ her smile turned rather maternal, "_every woman deserves something beautiful on such a day."_

Opening a hand adorned with a single, shimmering ring, the elf revealed a pendant held in her palm. A single leaf like that worn on the cloaks of many Lothlórien elves she had met hung at the end of a silver chain. Explaining as she clasped the gift about the speechless hobbit's neck, Galadriel said in Westron, "This is a leaf of one of the _mallorn_ trees that grow in my realm. Tall and strong they grow about us there, their presence steadfast no matter the centuries that pass."

Lowering her voice as those of Gandalf and Elrond reached their ears, the queen promised quietly in her own tongue, _"As you were there for her, I shall be there for you. Should you need me, my aid will reach you, little one."_

"_Hannad, my lady,"_ were the only words Poppy could force out of her awestruck brain.

By the time the two men had strode into the rounded courtyard, Galadriel had again returned to her place on the ledge in the moonlight and Poppy had retreated down the other stairs. Even as she went away, Gandalf's spellbound voice becoming too quiet for her ears, Galadriel's smooth tones filled her head, a hint of amusement in them.

"_As you follow on behind those you love, he would follow you just as far, Meduianna. Your dwarf searches for you. Also, do not worry of your weakness to wine… The water you have drunk for so many years shall serve you far better."_

Frowning in confusion at that last bit, wondering if the wise and powerful in the world just enjoyed being enigmatic for the sake of it, Poppy continued on her way down through the moonlit grounds of Rivendell. Though she had not been present when Gandalf came to them in the afternoon, explaining their plan, she had been told of it. Their need of a hasty exit only made Dori, Nori, Ori, and Bombur's efforts all the sweeter. Given they would be on the road before the night was out, they need not have worked so hard on something just for her.

Just as she had come upon the back of Elrond's hall, her thoughts whirling too fast for her to focus on both them and where she was going, she crashed into something decidedly solid. Groaning, fearing for a split second she had just walked into a statue, she soon found a pair of warm hands pulling her to her feet.

Laughing with relief, Fili grinned down at her, "I didn't think you'd had _that_ much wine. If I'd known I never would've let that elf take you off."

Smiling back, she gently smacked his chest, "Oh hush, I'm not drunk. I was…preoccupied." Taking in a deep breath, she leaned her forehead against his chest in an attempt to get her thoughts to stop swirling. If they were leaving soon, she would need to make them stop lest she fall off a cliff.

Leaning down and pressing a kiss to the top of her head, the dwarf began running his fingers down her braid. He waited until she emerged before taking her cheeks in both hands and swiftly smiling before kissing her. Her arms had wrapped around his chest before he pulled back, leaning his forehead on hers for a few long moments.

"We're leaving soon," he whispered. "Uncle Thorin and the others came back. They're all packing."

After she let out a small sigh, he leaned back down and kissed her again, wanting to savor the feeling because he knew that he shouldn't repeat the action for likely a long, long time. Not protesting in the slightest, her thoughts whittled down to only the exact one on his mind, she kissed back, keeping her arms about him.

Both were rather breathless upon breaking the kiss, smiles coming over their faces. After just holding her there in his arms for a few more long moments, Fili finally noted, "Oh, I almost forgot, your birthday present."

Managing a laugh, she groaned teasingly, "If I get anymore presents I'm going to become a terrible, spoiled witch of a woman…like Bilbo's cousin Lobelia."

Kissing her forehead, the dwarf shrugged off her words and quipped, "Remind me never to meet her. Anyway, it's not wrapped, but here…"

Without a word of warning, he easily lifted her up under the arms and placed her on his feet. Clutching at him as she was taken by surprise, it took her a moment to realize what was happening once he began swaying. Then, her eyes pricking with happy tears once again, she wrapped her arms around his neck and let her cheek come to rest against the hair of his beard.

As she settled in against him, her warmth seeping comfortingly through his clothes, he apologized softly, "I'm sorry there's no music."

"I don't care," she reassured, smiling as his hands tightened about her waist and he gently kissed the side of her head. Soon they would leave Rivendell and all its safety and stability for the unknown of the wild and the promise of retaking Erebor, but first she and Fili would dance.

* * *

"You will follow them?"

Nodding, Gandalf answered the elven woman beside him after their fellow members of the White Council had retired, the news of the dwarves' departure rather bringing things to a standstill, "Yes."

"You are right to help Thorin Oakenshield, but I fear this quest has set into motion forces we do not yet understand. The riddle of the Morgul blade must be answered. Something moves in the shadows unseen, hidden from our sight. It will not show itself," Galadriel insisted, the weapon Gandalf had produced for them earlier weighing on her mind. "Not yet, but every day it grows in strength. You must be careful."

Taking her words as both a farewell and a cautionary warning, the wizard gave a slight nod before turning to go down the stairs.

He was facing away from her when she called, "Mithrandir. Why the halflings?"

Turning back to her, Gandalf answered truthfully, "I don't know. Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check…but that is not what I have found. I've found that it is the small things, the simple deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love."

"Like a girl following her cousin across the earth to keep him safe."

Smiling at her allusion to the hobbit, he finished, "Why Bilbo Baggins and little Anna? Perhaps it is because I am afraid and they give me courage."

As he looked down at his folded hands, her soft, pale ones were soon covering his. Bringing his eyes up to look at her, she smiled, "Do not be afraid, Mithrandir. _If ever you should need my help, I will come._"

With a final squeeze of his hands, causing him to look down at them, the elven queen vanished, leaving Gandalf alone in the sunrise.

* * *

A/N: Well, hello there. Long time no see... So, first off, I must truly apologize for being gone so very, very long. April and the beginning of May just came up and bit me. Life does happen, but I must apologize for not giving more notice. It completely slipped my mind that I hadn't mentioned when I take breaks, I post it on my profile and not in a chapter. So, for future reference, if I don't show up for a week or so, check my profile. Again, apologies.

Also, as you can see we've gotten out of Rivendell. Lots had to happen, but I think it was time. I kept us there for like ten chapters and it was just time. Anywho, I do hope all of you still with me enjoyed, review if you wish, and thanks so very much for reading. :) See you on Sunday.


	44. Routine

For the first time in a very long time the sound of flowing water hitting Poppy's pointed ears caused her chest to tug with sadness rather than terror. Climbing up the stone path behind Bifur, the babbling and roaring of Imladris' many waterfalls was beginning to fade and the knowledge pulled at her, much as leaving the birdcalls and rustling leaves of the Old Forest had felt like leaving home.

"Be on your guard. We're about to enter the edge of the Wilds. Balin, you know these paths. Lead on."

Thorin's warning and subsequent order caused her to look up for a moment, wondering again if she shouldn't hold back more. While he had been genial enough on her birthday, she was well aware that her birthday and their time in the haven were over. She had paused after they snuck over the elven bridge in the moonlight, not wishing to push her presence on him. They had an accord: she wasn't part of the Company. Did that mean she should hang back yet again?

She had decided to do so, but after they made the climb out of the valley. There was no point in hanging back and getting them noticed. That would just make Thorin angrier and she had quickly learned that merely being there made him unhappy. Why make it worse?

Blue eyes looking about her, taking in the sights that she would likely not see again for a while, she found her cousin. A small smile lit up her face as she saw him doing the exact same thing she had been. Even though she'd been around them longer, it was quite clear that Bilbo had fallen in love with the beings just as much as she had. Pausing herself, she waited as he gazed behind them and the dwarves brushed past on the narrow path. Though home would always be the Shire, she saw the sadness of one already homesick on her older cousin's features. His face had always been something of an open book.

"Master Baggins," Thorin's gruff voice caused them both to start gently, the male hobbit glancing briefly over his shoulder at the dwarf. "I suggest you keep up."

Heaving a sigh, Bilbo took his last, long look at what he would forever argue was the most beautiful locale in Middle Earth. For all that Gandalf had berated him for his hobbit complacency, there had always been a small measure of restlessness in his heart, even on his laziest, least adventurous day. He had been quite successful at burying and ignoring that little feeling for the last twenty years, especially the last two in which he'd gotten Poppy back. That little feeling had been completely absent when he walked the paths or perused the library or gazed upon the beauty of Rivendell. There had felt…right, like when one found his perfect profession or that spot he would go to think of life and the world.

Home was Bag End, peace was found in Rivendell.

Pulling his eyes away for the last time as Bifur did his best to shoulder past without hitting the hobbit, Bilbo found Poppy looking at him, a small smile on her face. Sending her one in return, they exchanged a silent sigh and subsequent nod to continue on. Taking his walking stick more firmly in hand, the hobbit smiled more widely as his cousin and hurried to retake his place between Bofur and Fili.

Upon reaching them, the former making a smart, joking comment as usual, he noted the younger one glance meaningfully backward. Frowning, wondering why Fili would at all care they were taking their leave of the elven home, he followed his gaze. All he could see was Poppy almost just as she had been a second ago: her long, rather exotic braid over her shoulder, an absent smile on her face, and her staff in hand. Upon looking up, her smile widened. Shaking his head slightly, Bilbo found himself admitting yet again that he would never understand the two brothers, especially when one was smiling that goofily. Nor would he understand Bifur, whom he'd found snickering silently more and more often lately.

Dwarves were just odd…

* * *

The Company's route took them up the stone paths of the valley and out into the wilderness, thick pine forests greeting them first. Though the going was far steeper than they had before encountered, the trees were left behind by noon and the foothills truly began. The mountains loomed before them, growing ever bigger, their presence not yet boding good or ill.

Never having encountered terrain like it, Poppy followed behind the dwarves and Bilbo with a growing fascination. Perhaps it came from her love of climbing trees, of seeing all about her without it necessarily being able to see her. The higher they climbed, the more her calves burned, the happier she became. Even at little over three feet tall, she could see the entire world and the higher they went, the farther north and east they trekked, the more she saw. It was addicting in an odd way that she would have never predicted. However, as she came upon more and more cliffs and more pathways that threatened to spill her to her death should she make a wrong step, a tall, leafy tree still looked more appealing.

Her feet were making their way through tall grasses that reached up to her knees by the time the sun was high overhead as the afternoon passed on and even the long summer day drew to a close. It was amongst that grass that they made camp that night, a small outcropping there at their backs to keep the chilling north wind at bay.

As had become tradition what felt like so long ago before Rivendell, before Radagast, before the trolls, Poppy walked into camp late. She had kept her distance throughout the day, trailing along behind the long line of dwarves by at least a quarter of a mile. She smiled when she discovered Bifur and Bilbo had left an open space for her between them toward the outer edge of camp and dinner was suspiciously just not quite ready until she had put her things down. The smile left when Thorin rose from where he sat sharpening Orcrist. Features contracting into a frown deeper than the one that had taken up permanent residence on his face, the king demanded, "Go home, girl. Your friends are close enough, you'll have no problem returning. Just go home."

Meeting his gaze, she shook her head and replied quietly, "No, thank you, sir."

Things were back to normal.

Later in the evening, when the pipes had been brought out and the calming, really rather sleep-inducing smoke hovered in a foggy cloud, Bilbo turned to her and commented softly, "You know, I never noticed until now, but it's a bit nice to have the routine back. I never thought we would find a routine on an adventure…"

"Neither did I," she murmured back, gazing across the fire to where Fili was talking earnestly about something to Oin. While it sounded silly, she liked watching how his mouth moved when he talked and how his features all lit up with whatever he was feeling when speaking. Pulling her attention away, she smiled at Bilbo, "It's comforting, though."

"It is," he agreed. Looking about them, he queried again, "Do you suppose they feel about reaching the mountains how we did getting to Rivendell?"

"You mean happy or more comfortable?"

Puffing out a big cloud of smoke, he shrugged, "Both I suppose."

Pulling out her wool cloak and curling herself on her side, their late night catching up with her, she smiled again, "I think both. We're going to be masters of knowing what dwarves are thinking by the end of this journey."

Bilbo snorted, "Why do I highly doubt that? I never know what's going on up there in their heads. Fili, for example." As her previously drooping eyes snapped open, he gestured absently across the fire and commented quietly, "He just looks back and starts smiling like an idiot for half the day. What is that about? Don't get me started on Kili. Sometimes I think they're all a tiny, itty bitty bit daft."

Looking at one another, Poppy and Bifur grinned, the girl's face lighting up in a blush. She knew why Fili kept looking backward. Bringing the cousin's conversation to an end before anyone else heard it, Bifur grunted in Bilbo's direction, a hard look in his eyes. Sighing, Bilbo conceded, "Not all of you, I suppose."

The old warrior huffed with laughter at that as both hobbits settled down to sleep.

The hobbit awoke that night much as she had every other night of the quest: to the sound of Fili's voice. The smile that usually accompanied her nightly wake-up call was larger than ever before, however. Peeking through her lashes to ensure Gloin was indeed asleep after Fili relieved him, she silently pulled her feet from beneath Bifur's cloak and crept through the dry grass to him.

Having expected her company, Fili didn't start when she sat down beside him. Smiling widely, not having been able to talk to her in private all day, the dwarf put the swords he'd been sharpening aside and promptly caught her face in both hands. Allowing her just enough time to smile back, he pressed his lips to hers.

Eyes slowly fluttering open when he pulled back, the feeling of his lips and beard remaining as tingles against her skin, Poppy smiled. Running a hand down his chest, she commented with a note of teasing, "I thought we weren't going to do that out here."

"So did I," he replied, a grin coming up from his chest. Pecking her lingeringly on the forehead, he whispered against her skin before returning to his weapons, "I was wrong, Anna."

Smiling brightly, wondering not for the first time why Fili chose her to like of all people, Poppy laughed softly. Pushing a short, stray curl back behind her ear, she leaned her head against his shoulder and watched him work, taking the knives from his gauntlets and his spare whetstone to help after a few moments.

They said little as Fili's watch continued on, the sounds of night on the mountain different from those of the forest. When the moon had set to the point that they knew his watch was ending, she pushed herself quietly up. Before she turned to go, smiling shyly, she leaned down and kissed him, taking him slightly off guard. Watching as for once it was his hazel eyes that had trouble opening back up immediately, she grinned and whispered, "Good night."

As she retreated back through the sleeping bodies, only Bifur awake upon her return, she decided that routines were comforting, but some changes to them were never amiss…

* * *

A/N: Well, hello there all. Here we have it. There's not too much, but we're getting back into an adventuring mood. I hadn't realized just how very long we were in Rivendell until I wrote them walking again lol. Anyway, getting from Rivendell to the mountains will take far less time than the Shire to Rivendell, as one can imagine. For those of you excited for the Stone Giants and what comes after, I'm going to tentatively guess they'll show themselves in two, maybe three chapters if I get wordy. (Those of you who remember how long the troll took, ye be warned about my wandering muse.)

Anywho, I'll say once more just how happy I am to be back. Thanks to all of you who reviewed. It was so awesome to get those review emails after so long. :) So, thanks so much for reading everyone, review if you desire, and I hope you enjoyed. See you on Wednesday. :D


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